Why are you participating for Based Africa?

As creatives from Nigeria, Africa, we hope to bridge the digital divide by making it easier for people to come on-chain and manage their digital identities through Onentry.

With the slow adoption of decentralized technology in Nigeria in particular, we are inspired to make decentralized technologies more inclusive, allowing more people to transition smoothly and participate in the digital economy and more.

Through BasedAfrica, we aim to demonstrate the potential of Onentry to make decentralized technologies more accessible and as a means to contribute to the growth of Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

What challenges are you focusing on?

We're aware of the unique challenges faced in the African digital ecosystem. Our decentralized profile management system is being tailored to address several key issues which include:
Economic Exclusion: Traditional banking systems limit the participation of many people in the global economy. Web3 with its DeFi services is a gateway to include these populations. We aim to facilitate these services by providing users with digital profiles that enable them to participate freely.

Lack of Community and Networking Opportunities: There are challenges due to limited resources and established communities for networking and shared learning.

Fragmented Digital Identity: Many Web3 platforms and applications operate in silos, making it hard for users to switch between different services.

Complex User Experience: Web3 platforms can be intimidating to new users, especially those with little technical backgrounds. We make it easier for users to manage their identities without technical barriers.

How does your submission address this challenge?

Economic Exclusion: The first step towards leveling the field for equal participation in the digital economy is bringing people on-chain. Onentry makes this possible by allowing people to create and manage their digital identities/ profiles on-chain. Onentry adopts an intuitive and simplified onboarding process, encouraging vast adoption and transitioning to the web3 space. With this, users can confidently access DeFi services.

Lack of Community and Networking Opportunities: Onentry enhances connectivity and networking in the web3 space and beyond. With features like shared public profiles and portfolios, users can connect with like-minded people and share knowledge and opportunities. Onentry also harnesses the potential of social media to bring people together by allowing integration into these platforms.

Fragmented Digital Identity: Onentry streamlines user interaction with multiple dApps by allowing them to manage a unified profile across multiple applications. This gives users more freedom and flexibility to explore the Web3 space.

Complex User Experience: Onentry encourages the transition to web3 spaces by offering intuitive and simple interfaces. Users can manage their digital identities without technical barriers.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge we encountered was integrating smart wallets. Specifically, we discovered that Coinbase's smart wallet is not accessible in our region unless users rely on a VPN. Initially, we considered moving forward with the integration, but after evaluating the potential impact on our users and their onboarding experience, we decided against it. As we work on a more robust solution, we’ve opted for RainbowKit for wallet connections in the interim.

Another hurdle we faced was implementing basenames. The documentation was initially difficult to navigate, and we found ourselves lost. However, through persistent research and the collective effort of our team, we successfully got it up and running.

The final challenge was reading, displaying, and enabling users to utilize their NFTs as profile pictures. We explored various platforms and solutions, but none fully met our needs. It wasn’t until we found Moralis that things started to click. Thanks to their well-maintained documentation, we seamlessly integrated the NFT feature into our platform. Now, users can view their entire NFT collection, select any NFT as a profile picture, and manage them as they please.

It’s been a journey, but these obstacles only made our platform stronger and ready for future expansion we have for it