Celo's mission is to build a financial system that creates the conditions for prosperity - for everyone. We're glad to have Celo join in as a Devfolio season partner to make this vision a reality through a series of initiatives throughout the year. The first of these initiatives is the Celo India Fellowship, an 8-week fellowship that'll empower developers interested in being changemakers with all the mentorship and support they need along with a $1000 stipend to align incentives. Apply now to be the change you wish to see in the world: https://celo-india-fellowship.devfolio.co/

The Celo protocol is an open, distributed cryptographic protocol that allows applications to make transactions with and perform computation on a family of cryptocurrencies, including ones pegged to ‘fiat’ currencies like the US Dollar. Celo is oriented around providing the simplest possible experience for end-users, who may have no familiarity with cryptocurrencies and may be using low-cost devices with limited connectivity.

The blockchain industry has long had the underpinnings of serving the masses, helping underbanked communities secure their financial future. However despite the vast majority of the masses in developing countries only having access to the internet via mobiles, there are remarkably few mobile-first Dapps, and almost none cater to the underserved. Thousands of organizations and individuals are developing, growing, and governing Celo's open-source platform that allows anyone to build borderless applications to make the shift possible. Successful deployments of Celo across the world include humanitarian aid being delivered to 3500 Micro-Entrepreneurs in the Philippines and it's time that the benefits of the Celo stack reach a wider demographic.

Celo joining in as a Devfolio Season Partner

We at Devfolio are glad to welcome Celo as a Season Partner to bring the best builders in India together to make decentralized mobile product experiences that can reach billions of people both in India and around the world.

University Season Hackathons: Celo is helping support 100+ university hackathons hosted over the course of the year on Devfolio. Apart from dedicated bounties for each hackathon, Celo will provide mentorship and support to the hackers along the way with Celo schwag for the best performers at these hackathons.

Celo India Online Hackathon: The Celo India Online Hackathon will bring together the top developers in India to build creative applications on Celo at their own pace without the need to be physically present and stand the chance of winning up to $10,000 in prizes.

Presenting the Celo India Fellowship

The first of these initiatives, Celo India Fellowship will see the top developers in India be mentored and supported in learning and then building on the Celo stack while receiving $1000 in stipend over the course of the 8 week mentor led program.

Here’s why passionate builders should be applying to the Celo India Fellowship:

• Learn, Grow & Contribute to Open Source: The process of contributing to open source projects is not only personally satisfying but develops essential skills needed to become a well-rounded developer.
• Get rewarded for your efforts: A stipend of $1000 will be paid over the course of the program based on milestones achieved apart from evaluation for larger grants at the end of the program.
• Get mentored by Industry Leaders: Celo draws the top minds in the ecosystem who'll support and mentor as you dive into the ecosystem.
• Join a global community and make a difference: The work you do has the potential to directly impact the lives of billions of the underserved who have long been locked out of access to traditional finance.

How does it work?

1. Apply here to make your case for joining the fellowship. Schedule a remote interview once you receive your conditional acceptance and get invited to the fellowship.
2. Work closely with the mentors over eight weeks (4 weeks of coursework + 4 weeks of project building) to learn, hone your skills, and contribute to the Celo ecosystem. The estimated time commitment is 40 hours per week.
3. Complete weekly milestones under the guidance of your mentor and be eligible for stipend payouts every two weeks based on them. The program will end with an evaluation for future grant support.

Timeline

• Applications begin: 17:00 IST | 17th April 2021
• Applications end: 23:59 IST | 16th May 2021
• Interview Shortlist: 12:00 IST | 18th May 2021
• Interviews: 19:00–21:00 IST | 19th — 22nd May 2021
• Final cohort results announced: 05:30 IST | 25th May 2021
• Program Starts: 20:00 IST | 31st May 2021
• Program Ends: 20:00 IST | 25th July 2021

If you always wanted to do your part in building a better financial future for the underserved and contribute to cutting-edge open source technology, the Celo India Fellowship is your chance to do so while being appropriately rewarded for your efforts.

Apply Now: https://celo-india-fellowship.devfolio.co/

Did we miss anything? Reach out to us at [email protected]

Update: Due to unavoidable circumstances, we had to push back the timeline of the program. The timeline above has been updated accordingly. As mentioned in it, the folks qualifying for the interview shortlist will be contacted on 17th May 2021.