NatureCoin

The specific problem NatureCoin is solving is the lack of investment, traceability, and inclusive participation in the management and monetization of coastal and marine resources in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In Tanzania, over 25 million people live in coastal regions, depending on the ocean for food, livelihoods, and economic development. However, these coastal ecosystems are under severe threat - over 40% of the country's mangrove forests have been lost since 1990 due to deforestation, coastal development, and overfishing. Moreover, small-scale fishing communities, which make up 99% of Tanzania's fishing sector, often lack the resources and bargaining power to access sustainable fisheries quotas and benefit equitably from the blue economy.

Globally, coastal and marine ecosystems provide essential services worth an estimated $50 trillion annually, yet sustainable financing for their protection and regeneration remains woefully inadequate. Only 1% of global climate finance is directed towards ocean-based solutions, leaving a $150 billion annual funding gap to meet conservation and restoration targets.

The factors contributing to this problem include:

• Lack of transparency and traceability in the management of coastal and marine resources
• Exclusion of local and indigenous communities from decision-making and equitable benefit-sharing
• Insufficient financial mechanisms to incentivize private investment in blue economy projects
• Disconnection between global climate finance and on-the-ground marine conservation efforts

By addressing these systemic challenges, NatureCoin aims to unlock new sources of sustainable financing to strengthen coastal and marine ecosystems and empower marginalized communities across Sub-Saharan Africa.

NatureCoin's solution is a Digital Blue Economy Asset Marketplace that leverages blockchain technology to tokenize and trade intangible marine assets. Our platform enables the tokenization of a diverse range of coastal and ocean-based resources, including:

• Mangrove forests and other coastal habitats for carbon sequestration and biodiversity
• Sustainable fishing quotas and community-managed fisheries
• Offshore renewable energy generation capacity

These assets are represented as unique, tamper-proof tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Investors, corporations, and coastal communities can then securely buy, sell, and fractionally own these tokens through NatureCoin's decentralized smart contracts.

To ensure the integrity of these tokenized assets, NatureCoin integrates with IoT sensors, satellite monitoring, and community-based verification systems. This provides real-time data on the condition and performance of the underlying assets, which is automatically reflected in the token value.

By democratizing access to these marine assets and fostering a liquid marketplace for their exchange, NatureCoin aims to catalyze new sources of sustainable financing to support coastal conservation, sustainable fisheries, and offshore clean energy projects. Our goal is to channel at least $100 million in new investment towards these critical blue economy initiatives over the next 5 years.

The use of blockchain technology is central to NatureCoin's solution, as it enables the transparent, decentralized, and equitable management of these marine assets, empowering coastal communities as active stakeholders.

NatureCoin's solution serves three key stakeholder groups:

1. Coastal and Marine Communities:
NatureCoin's platform serves over 25 million people living in coastal regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the 99% of Tanzania's fishing sector comprised of small-scale fishers and community-based organizations. By tokenizing their marine assets, NatureCoin aims to increase incomes for at least 50,000 households in these marginalized coastal communities.

2. Impact Investors and Sustainable Finance Institutions: 
NatureCoin provides a transparent marketplace for the estimated $150 billion in annual global climate finance to be more effectively channeled towards blue economy initiatives. The platform will onboard at least 6 major impact investment funds and ESG-focused financial institutions as anchor investors and liquidity providers.

3. Environmentally Conscious Individuals:
NatureCoin empowers environmentally conscious individuals worldwide to directly support coastal and ocean restoration efforts. The platform aims to attract at least 10,000 individual investors and environmental supporters to participate in the trading of tokenized marine assets.

Through these diverse stakeholder groups, NatureCoin aims to catalyze at least $100 million in new sustainable financing over the next 5 years to strengthen coastal and marine ecosystems, improve livelihoods for 50,000 marginalized households, and accelerate the transition to a more equitable and regenerative blue economy.

NatureCoin's founding team is uniquely positioned to deliver this solution to coastal and marine communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Tanzania.

As CEO, Marcela Sanai has deep roots in the Tanzanian coastal region, having grown up in a small fishing village. With a background in environmental economics, she has spent the past 7 years working directly with local community organizations to develop sustainable aquaculture and mangrove restoration initiatives. 

The CTO, Bahati Mosha, is a respected elder in the Mafia Island Marine Park, where he has led efforts to establish community-based monitoring systems for coral reefs and seagrass habitats. Bahati holds a Master's degree in Computer Science and has 10 years of experience building decentralized applications for environmental data management.

Asha Kilimanjaro, the Chief Operations Officer, previously managed a cooperative of seaweed farmers in Zanzibar, helping them secure fair-trade certifications and access premium markets. With 8 years of on-the-ground project management experience, Asha is acutely aware of the challenges faced by marginalized coastal communities.

The Chief Marketing Officer, Zawadi Kihiyo, is a passionate advocate for indigenous marine rights. As the former communications director for the Tanzanian Coastal Resources Center, Zawadi has deep relationships with community leaders and a track record of driving user adoption for sustainable blue economy initiatives.

This diverse team, rooted in the lived experiences of coastal Tanzanians, has directly shaped the design and implementation of the NatureCoin platform. Through continuous community engagement, they ensure the solution is aligned with the needs, priorities, and self-determined agendas of the people it aims to serve.

NatureCoin is currently in the pilot phase of our digital blue economy asset marketplace. We have launched an initial version of the platform and have secured agreements to tokenize 500 hectares of mangrove forests and 250 tons of sustainable fisheries quotas with pilot partners in Tanzania.

So far, we have directly engaged with and onboarded 1 coastal community organization representing approximately 200 small-scale fishers and mangrove stewards. Through a series of co-creation workshops, we have incorporated their feedback to refine the design and user experience of our platform, ensuring it meets their needs and priorities.

Additionally, we have secured commitments from 1 impact investment fund and 1 sustainable finance institution to participate as anchor investors and liquidity providers on the NatureCoin marketplace. This has allowed us to test the technical infrastructure and market demand for our tokenized marine assets.

While still in the iterative pilot phase, we have already demonstrated the viability of our blockchain-powered solution to strengthen the connection between global climate finance and on-the-ground blue economy initiatives. Our next steps involve expanding the scope of our pilot, onboarding additional coastal communities and sustainable investors, and refining our business model to ensure long-term financial sustainability.

The pilot stage has been critical for NatureCoon to validate our solution with both frontline stakeholders and financial partners. We are now well-positioned to scale our impact and drive meaningful change in the blue economy landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa.

NatureCoin is applying to Solve to leverage the program's extensive partner network and expertise in the blue economy and climate finance space. Specifically, we hope Solve can help us overcome the following barriers:

Technical Barriers:
As a blockchain-powered platform, we are constantly navigating the evolving technical and regulatory landscape around digital assets and distributed ledger technologies. Solve's deep relationships with leading Web3 experts and policymakers could provide invaluable guidance to ensure the security, scalability, and compliance of our solution.

Cultural Barriers:
Bridging the gap between global financial institutions and marginalized coastal communities is a key challenge for NatureCoin. Solve's strong ties to on-the-ground NGOs, community organizations, and local leaders would be instrumental in helping us navigate cultural nuances and build trust within the communities we serve.

Market Barriers:
Establishing a new digital marketplace for tokenized marine assets requires overcoming significant inertia in traditional blue economy value chains. Solve's extensive network of impact investors, corporate partners, and industry influencers could open doors for NatureCoin to access the right channels for market validation and customer acquisition.

Finally, the financial support and networking opportunities provided by the Solve program would also be instrumental in helping NatureCoin secure additional funding to scale our solution and drive greater impact in the blue economy.

By tapping into Solve's unparalleled ecosystem of expertise and resources, NatureCoin is confident we can accelerate the development and real-world deployment of our blockchain-based platform to strengthen coastal and marine ecosystems across Sub-Saharan Africa.

NatureCoin's innovative approach to the blue economy challenge lies in its use of blockchain technology to democratize access to marine and coastal ecosystem assets.

Existing solutions in this space tend to be top-down, with conservation efforts and sustainable finance initiatives often being disconnected from the needs and priorities of local communities. In contrast, NatureCoin's blockchain-powered platform empowers marginalized coastal stakeholders as active participants in the trading and monetization of their environmental resources.

By tokenizing diverse marine assets like mangrove forests, sustainable fisheries, and offshore renewable energy, NatureCoin creates a transparent and equitable marketplace that enables anyone - from impact investors to individual citizens - to directly support blue economy initiatives. This not only catalyzes new sources of sustainable financing, but also strengthens the role of coastal communities as stewards of these vital ecosystems.

The integration of real-time monitoring and verification systems on the NatureCoin platform ensures the integrity of these tokenized assets, building trust and accountability in the blue finance ecosystem. This represents a significant improvement over existing carbon offset and conservation finance models, which often lack transparency and traceability.

If successful, NatureCoin's innovative approach has the potential to fundamentally reshape the blue economy landscape. By demonstrating the power of blockchain to democratize access to marine assets, we aim to inspire other organizations and policymakers to rethink how coastal and ocean resources are governed and financed. This could lead to a more inclusive, data-driven, and regenerative blue economy that empowers marginalized communities as active stakeholders.

NatureCoin's theory of change is based on the premise that empowering coastal communities as active stakeholders in the management and monetization of their marine assets is the key to unlocking sustainable financing and driving positive impact for blue economy initiatives.

Our solution is designed to achieve this:

Activities:

• Tokenize a diverse range of coastal and ocean-based assets (mangroves, sustainable fisheries, offshore renewables) on the blockchain
• Integrate real-time monitoring and verification systems to ensure the integrity of these tokenized assets
• Establish a decentralized marketplace for the trading of these marine tokens

Outputs:

• Increased transparency and traceability in the management of coastal and marine resources
• Greater participation and decision-making power for local and indigenous communities in blue economy value chains
• New sources of sustainable financing channeled towards critical blue economy initiatives

Outcomes:

• Strengthened coastal and marine ecosystems, with improved habitat health, biodiversity, and resilience to climate change
• Improved livelihoods and food security for marginalized coastal communities, particularly small-scale fishers and mangrove stewards
• Accelerated transition towards a more equitable and regenerative blue economy in Sub-Saharan Africa

This theory of change is supported by extensive research on the role of community-based natural resource management in driving sustainable development outcomes, as well as case studies on the potential for blockchain and digital assets to democratize access to environmental assets.

By placing coastal communities at the center of our solution, NatureCoin aims to catalyze a virtuous cycle of ecosystem restoration, livelihood enhancement, and equitable blue economy growth - ultimately transforming the way marine resources are governed and financed.

NatureCoin's key impact goals and corresponding measurement indicators are:

Goal 1: Strengthen coastal and marine ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa by channeling $100 million in sustainable financing towards conservation and restoration initiatives over the next 5 years.

Indicators:

• Total value of tokenized marine assets traded on the NatureCoin platform
• Hectares of mangrove forests and other coastal habitats protected or restored
• Tons of sustainable fisheries quotas secured and managed by local communities

Goal 2: Improve livelihoods and food security for 50,000 marginalized coastal households in Tanzania by empowering them as active stakeholders in the blue economy.

Indicators

• Number of coastal community members (disaggregated by gender) participating in the NatureCoin marketplace
• Increase in average household income for participating coastal community members
• Improvements in dietary diversity and food security among participating households

Goal 3: Accelerate the transition towards a more equitable and regenerative blue economy in Sub-Saharan Africa by demonstrating the transformative potential of blockchain and digital assets.

Indicators

• Number of sustainable finance institutions and impact investors actively trading on the NatureCoon platform
• Level of transparency and traceability in the management of tokenized marine assets, as measured by community feedback and third-party audits
• Adoption of blockchain-based approaches for blue economy financing and governance by other organizations and policymakers in the region

We will track these indicators through a combination of on-platform data, field surveys, and third-party impact assessments. Quarterly reporting and stakeholder feedback will allow us to continuously refine our strategies and ensure we are making meaningful progress towards our long-term impact goals.

The core technology that powers the NatureCoin solution is blockchain. Specifically, we have built our platform on the Ethereum blockchain, leveraging its reliability, security, and programmability through smart contracts.

The key technological components of the NatureCoin platform include:

1. Tokenization of Marine Assets: We use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to digitally represent and track ownership of diverse coastal and ocean-based resources, such as mangrove forests, sustainable fisheries quotas, and offshore renewable energy capacity. These tokenized assets are recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, providing an immutable, transparent record of their ownership and performance.

2. Decentralized Marketplace: NatureCoin's platform features a decentralized exchange where these tokenized marine assets can be securely bought, sold, and fractionally owned by investors, corporations, and coastal communities. Smart contracts automatically enforce the rules and parameters governing these transactions.

3. IoT Integration and Monitoring: To ensure the integrity of the tokenized assets, we integrate with a network of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, satellite imagery, and community-based monitoring systems. This real-time data on the condition and performance of the underlying assets is automatically reflected in the token values.

4. Inclusive Governance: NatureCoin employs a decentralized governance model, where coastal community members and other stakeholders can participate in the decision-making processes around the management and monetization of the tokenized marine assets.

By leveraging blockchain's transparency, traceability, and programmability, NatureCoin empowers marginalized coastal communities to become active, equitable participants in the blue economy. This technology-driven approach represents a significant departure from traditional top-down conservation and sustainable finance models, with the potential to catalyze a more inclusive and regenerative future for our oceans and coastlines.

The NatureCoin solution team consists of:

4 Full-time Staff:

• Marcela Sanai, CEO
• Bahati Mosha, CTO
• Asha Kilimanjaro, Chief Operations Officer
• Zawadi Kihiyo, Chief Marketing Officer

3 Part-time Staff:

• Bintou Juma, Community Engagement Manager
• Rashidi Mrisho, Data Analyst
• Amani Rashid, Blockchain Developer

In addition, we work with a network of 5 independent contractors and consultants who provide specialized expertise in areas like impact assessment, regulatory compliance, and user experience design.

The NatureCoin team has been working on this solution for the past 18 months. The initial concept and core technology development began in early 2022, and the team has spent the last year and a half validating the solution through community engagement, building the technical infrastructure, and establishing partnerships with key stakeholders. This iterative process has allowed us to refine the platform's design, user experience, and value proposition, putting NatureCoin in a strong position to scale and drive meaningful impact in the blue economy.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are core principles that guide the formation and operations of the NatureCoin team. We believe that building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization is essential to driving meaningful, community-led impact in the blue economy.

Our leadership team is intentionally constructed to reflect the diversity of the coastal communities we serve. Our CEO, Marcela Sanai, is a woman of color from Tanzania with deep connections to local stakeholders. Our CTO, Bahati Mosha, is a young, disabled Tanzanian engineer who brings a unique perspective to our technology development. The rest of our full-time staff also includes a balanced representation of gender, age, and ethnic backgrounds.

In terms of our DEI goals, we are committed to ensuring that at least 50% of our team members come from the coastal communities we work with, and that women and other underrepresented groups make up at least 60% of our overall staff. To achieve this, we have implemented inclusive hiring practices, such as anonymizing resumes, collaborating with local NGOs to source candidates, and providing skills training and mentorship opportunities.

We have established a DEI committee within the organization to regularly assess our progress, identify areas for improvement, and implement policies and programs that foster a welcoming and inclusive work environment. This includes offering mental health support, flexible work arrangements, and diversity and sensitivity training for all team members.

By prioritizing DEI, we aim to not only build a stronger, more innovative team, but also serve as a model for how blue economy solutions can be designed and delivered in a way that empowers marginalized coastal communities as active participants and leaders.

NatureCoin's business model is centered on creating value for our key stakeholders - coastal communities, impact investors, and sustainable finance institutions - through the development and operation of a decentralized blue economy marketplace.

Our primary revenue stream comes from charging a 2-3% transaction fee on all trades of the tokenized marine assets facilitated through our platform. This fee structure aligns with industry standards for similar digital asset exchanges, while ensuring the financial sustainability of our operations.

In addition to the transaction fees, NatureCoin also generates revenue through the following channels:

1. Asset Management Fees: We charge a small annual fee to the owners of the tokenized marine assets to cover the costs of ongoing monitoring, verification, and maintenance of these digital resources.

2. Consulting and Advisory Services: Drawing on our expertise in blockchain, sustainable finance, and blue economy development, we offer tailored advisory services to organizations looking to integrate digital asset solutions into their conservation and restoration initiatives.

3. Grants and Philanthropic Funding: To support our mission-driven work in empowering coastal communities, we actively seek grant funding and donations from impact investors, foundations, and other philanthropic sources.

The value we provide to our key stakeholders is multifaceted:

• Coastal communities gain access to new, sustainable income streams from the monetization of their marine assets, as well as increased decision-making power in the blue economy.
• Impact investors and sustainable finance institutions can easily access and trade verified, high-impact blue economy assets.
• All participants benefit from the transparency, traceability, and efficiency enabled by the blockchain-powered NatureCoin platform.

By aligning our business model with the needs and interests of these diverse stakeholders, NatureCoin aims to create a virtuous cycle of financial, social, and environmental value creation in the blue economy.

NatureCoin's plan for achieving long-term financial sustainability is centered on a diversified revenue model that leverages the unique capabilities of our blockchain-powered blue economy platform.

The core of our revenue strategy is the 2-3% transaction fee we charge for all trades of the tokenized marine assets on our decentralized marketplace. Based on our market research and financial projections, we expect this transaction-based model to generate the majority of our operational funding as we scale the platform's user base and trading volume.

To complement this, we have also established the following additional revenue streams:

1. Asset management fees: We charge a small annual fee to the owners of the tokenized assets to cover the costs of ongoing monitoring, verification, and maintenance of these digital resources. Initial estimates indicate this could contribute 10-15% of our revenue.

2. Consulting and advisory services: By offering our expertise in blockchain technology, sustainable finance, and blue economy development to other organizations, we anticipate generating 15-20% of our revenue through these value-added services.

3. Grants and philanthropic funding: To support our mission-driven work in empowering coastal communities, we have already secured $38,000 in grant funding from the Carbon Tanzania Foundation and the Tanzania Marine Conservation Trust. We will continue to actively seek additional grant and donation-based support, which we estimate could account for 10-15% of our revenue.

This early success gives us confidence in the viability of our financial sustainability plan as we work towards scaling NatureCoin's impact in the years to come.