Ethereum for the Next Billion: Announcing the EF Fellowship Program
The Next Billion: Ethereum's Quest for Global Impact
As the Ethereum ecosystem continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it's an exciting time to be a part of this vibrant community. From the adoption of proof of stake to the upcoming Merge and other significant upgrades, the future of Ethereum looks brighter than ever. However, as the Ethereum Foundation (EF) navigates its role in this growth, it's essential to consider the long-term implications of our actions.
The Philosophy of Subtraction
When we think about creating a lasting impact, one that outlives us personally and our organizations, it becomes crucial to subtract where we can. This means allowing the ecosystem to sustainably exist and thrive without relying too heavily on EF or any other entity. As the EF team, we recognize that there are many things that won't happen organically until the garden matures. Someone needs to plant seeds, others need to water them, and we take care of the weeds when things block healthy growth in the garden.
Zooming Out: The Bigger Picture
In pursuing the longevity and health of the ecosystem, we encourage our team to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. One of the questions we often ask is: "Are we looking at the users who would most benefit from Ethereum?" Developing countries today account for over 80% of the world's population, and of the approximately 400,000 babies born every day around the world, more than 360,000 are born in developing countries. People in developing nations represent not only our future as a people but also the next billion active users of Ethereum.
The Potential of Ethereum in Emerging Economies
Ethereum's capability to enable trust, transparency, efficiency, and coordination has high potential in developing countries where these characteristics are often in short supply. It's in this context – an overlap between opportunities, impact, and potential for Ethereum – that the Ethereum Foundation Fellowship Program was created.
Meet the EF Fellowship Program
The Ethereum Foundation Fellowship Program is a pilot project launched by Next Billion, a team at EF that focuses on seeking opportunities in emerging economies. The program provides an opportunity to work with change-makers whose projects have high potential to create impact in emerging economies by using Ethereum. The program features a unique experience that includes mentorship, expertise, and access to leaders in the Ethereum ecosystem.
How is this different from regular grant support?
Our vision is not only to support these specific projects but to create a ripple effect. We hope others will learn from the work of this cohort and be inspired to do similar work in their own communities or even create upgraded solutions.
Our Inaugural Cohort
We're excited to introduce our inaugural cohort of Fellows, each working on projects that have the potential to create significant impact in emerging economies.
- Benson Njuguna (Acre Africa) is working to implement blockchain solutions to a microinsurance product that protects thousands of small-scale farmers in Kenya from extreme weather events.
- Chuy Cepeda (OS.City) provides municipal and national governments a platform to easily issue digital identities and blockchain-based documents to their citizens, with a vision to one day hold government-issued documents (like permits and IDs) in our Ethereum wallets.
- Kuldeep Bandhu Aryal (BRAC) will develop a blockchain and crypto strategy for BRAC, the world's largest NGO, based in Bangladesh, serving over 100 million people annually.
- Naroa Zurutuza (Giga) is exploring Ethereum-based solutions as part of Giga's effort to connect every school to the internet.
Stay Informed and Involved
While starting small and as an experiment with this pilot class, this program is also a new strategic avenue for EF to allocate resources to regions that are still blue ocean for the future of Ethereum. The issues being focused upon have large and long-term implications on Ethereum's value as something that can achieve public sector adoption while helping to bring about financial inclusion, positively impacting the fight against climate change and more.
We're looking forward to working with our Fellows and the community to support their projects and create a lasting impact on the world. If you'd like to stay connected with the Fellowship Program or any of the Fellows, please sign up to stay informed here, or contact the team at fellowship@ethereum.org.
Source: https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2021/05/07/ethereum-for-the-next-billion
