Web3 Clubs, an initiative focused on championing Web3 developer education in Africa, officially completed its second cohort when 15 students graduated, out of which, 4 were female developers.

The cohort training kicked off in March 2023 with 20 developers onboarded to learn how to build decentralized applications (dApps) on the Ethereum blockchain and install several more Web3 Clubs across various universities.

The students put in 90 hours of daily programming time over the course of 3 months. In addition, the course also included an additional 28 hrs of full-day bootcamps where they were able to interact one-on-one with the lead trainer.

A lack of skilled developers is a major bottleneck hindering the growth of the ecosystem on the African continent. Web3 Clubs is addressing this challenge in this second cohort expected to produce a new crop of developers who will be able to build innovative dApps that will solve real-world problems on the Ethereum blockchain.

The graduation event also included a showcase of the outstanding projects drawn from the students. Some of the projects built by the students included:

• Artsy, an NFT marketplace developed using Ethers.js and React, with Pinata as the decentralized file hosting service

“By integrating Etheres.js, Pinata, React, and MetaMask, I created a secure, transparent and visually captivating platform where artists can showcase their unique creations, and art enthusiasts can collect and appreciate these unique digital assets,” said Esther, one of the graduates.

• Qwame, a blockchain-based, decentralized crowdfunding platform specifically designed to uplift research in Africa

“In Africa, individual scientists and researchers lack access to necessary funding to advance their groundbreaking research,” said geneticist cum blockchain developer, Cyndie Kamau.

“Traditional funding mechanisms are often centralized, leading to bias towards well-established institutions. Qwame provides a transparent and efficient conduit for direct funding from individuals, organizations, and stakeholders to the researchers who need it.”

Besides students drawn from across universities in Kenya, the program also targets a wide net of participants including experienced developers, entrepreneurs, and business professionals.

The participants, drawn from across Kenya, have now gained a comprehensive understanding of the following:

• The basics of Ethereum and how it works
• The Solidity programming language and how to write smart contracts using Solidity
• Advanced Solidity concepts such as modifiers, inheritance, and error handling
• Ethereum development tools and environment setup using Truffle and Ganache
• Interacting with smart contracts through web3.js library
• Advanced contract topics such as events and optimization
• Security and best practices for writing secure and efficient smart contracts
• Building and deploying a fully functional smart contract that solves a real-world problem

Web3 Clubs ran a successful first cohort in 2022 which saw 30 developers graduate as NEAR protocol developers.