A Spotlight on Stake Pools: Wada Pool [WADA]

Learn how WADA supports ecosystem growth across the African continent through its various initiatives

Through the “Spotlight on Stake Pools” interview series, the Cardano Foundation engages with stake pool operators (SPOs) to discuss their individual goals, initiatives, and achievements. These insights showcase the diversity and resilience of Cardano’s ecosystem and a commitment to collaborative, open-source development across communities.

Our most recent installment featured GROW, a stake pool managed by seasoned IT professional Raymond Mata. Through his stake pool operations, Mata donates to charities across the African continent, including the Kids Compassion Charity in Sierra Leone. Mata also has an extensive background in Cardano development, including the testing and development of JorManager, a GUI-based Cardano stake pool management system.

This time, in conversation with Josh Fielding, we spotlight the Wada pool [WADA]. Launched in 2021, Wada operates to expand technology access and bridge Web 3.0 opportunities across the African continent, fostering a diverse, vibrant Cardano community. This installment delves into the pool’s ongoing efforts, including education and training, Intersect membership, and key contributions to Cardano governance.

Why did you become a stake pool operator?

Inspired by early stake pools like SMILE Pool and StakepoolXYZ, Wada saw an opportunity to deepen its involvement in the Cardano ecosystem.

We believed that by operating our own stake pool, we could offer a way for supporters to actively participate in the ecosystem, help cover our operational costs, and generate staking rewards with the delegated ada. It was an exciting prospect that aligned perfectly with our mission.

Moreover, this venture began as an educational exercise. We wanted to demonstrate to other community projects that stake pools could be an interesting way to participate in Cardano while benefiting from the staking rewards as a potential source of income. Once we proved the model's success, our goal was to host workshops and assist others in creating their own stake pools while also directing delegators to various regions and causes.

Additionally, we aimed to extend the network infrastructure into Africa, bolstering the global decentralization efforts. This initiative was not just about us; it was about contributing to a broader, more inclusive network that benefits everyone involved.

What is the mission of your stake pool?

Our stake pool is dedicated to supporting Wada's mission of providing access to technology and bridging Web 3.0 opportunities across Africa.

By operating this stake pool, we aim to play our part in securing and decentralizing the Cardano network, ensuring its robustness and reliability.

Additionally, we are passionate about bringing more African involvement into stake pools and fostering a diverse and vibrant community that benefits from and contributes to the global Cardano ecosystem.

Can you give us a brief history of your stake pool?

Our journey began on the 19 of June, 2021. One of our proudest early achievements was setting up the first Cardano node in Ghana in collaboration with Jzen and StakepoolXYZ. This milestone marked the beginning of our commitment to integrating African infrastructure into the Cardano network.

We received our first delegation from the Cardano Foundation in 2022, a significant boost that validated our efforts and commitment to the ecosystem.

Delegations have been a challenge since the pool's inception. Between the two Cardano Foundation delegations, we experienced a considerable drop in total delegations. This fluctuation made it challenging to maintain consistent block production during periods with less than 1 million ada in total delegation.

Historically, Wada has taken a background role in promoting our stake pool to allow other African stake pools to benefit from increased visibility and delegations. It's a balanced approach, promoting our pool while supporting others in the region.

In Q3 2023, we received our second delegation from the Cardano Foundation, which was a welcome boost to both our stake pool activities and projects that the increased rewards were able to support.

How did the Cardano Foundation delegation impact your stake pool operation?

The current delegation was instrumental in sustaining our stake pool operations, allowing us to maintain consistent block production throughout the duration. With the increased resources from the delegation, we were able to upgrade our service package, ensuring that our infrastructure remained robust and reliable.

Moreover, the delegation prompted us to be more hands-on with the pool, stepping up our maintenance and operational efforts. We took this opportunity to deepen our knowledge and refine our skills, ensuring we could manage the pool more effectively. The increased delegation also improved our luck factor significantly, with our block production efficiency rising from 87% to 95%.

Overall, the Cardano Foundation delegation has been a crucial component in our stake pool's journey. It has allowed us to enhance our operations, maintain consistency, and improve our infrastructure, all while providing us with the opportunity to grow and develop our skills. This support has been vital in ensuring that we can continue to contribute to the Cardano ecosystem effectively.

Did the Cardano Foundation delegation enable you to build or improve tools, projects, or open source repositories?

The support from the Cardano Foundation delegation significantly enhanced our ability to build and improve various tools and projects. Firstly, it allowed us to invest in better infrastructure, particularly by upgrading our servers. This improvement in infrastructure was fundamental in ensuring the stability and efficiency of our operations, enabling us to handle increased demands and provide a reliable service to our community.

One of the key projects we developed, thanks to this delegation, is the Wada Forum. The Wada Forum serves as a multifaceted platform used for training, hosting town halls, generating ideas, and providing a community space. This forum has been instrumental in our mission to spread technology adoption across Africa. We hold weekly sessions on the platform to engage with the community, with over 20 weekly sessions successfully completed to provide educational resources and foster discussions that drive innovation and collaboration.

Additionally, the steady stream of staking rewards supported by the delegation positively impacted many other Wada projects. It allowed us to focus on long-term initiatives without the constant pressure of financial instability. The delegation not only supported the creation of new projects like the Wada Forum but also ensured the continued success and growth of our existing projects, furthering our mission to enhance technology access and adoption in Africa.

How would you summarize your contributions to the Cardano ecosystem?

• •Local Hubs (2020-present): Established regional Cardano hubs across Africa, serving as entry points for businesses and individuals to engage with the ecosystem. Wada now has 10+ hubs across 8 countries, steadily growing and adding to the network.
• •Catalyst Involvement (2020-present): Since the inception of Catalyst with Fund 0, Wada has been a key contributor, involved in proposal submissions and community reviews, supporting others with proposals, and shaping governance around Catalyst's evolution.
• •Catalyst Projects (2021-present): Successfully completed over 35 projects, making Wada a major contributor to project delivery and impact in underserved regions.
• •Governance Involvement (2022-present): Active in the Civics Committee and involved in the drafting of the interim Cardano Constitution. Our partnerships lead, Mercy Fordwoo, is now a member of Intersect’s Constitutional Council, demonstrating Wada’s commitment to governance and ecosystem development at the highest level.
• •Cardano Summit Involvement and Hub Events (2021-present): Nominated to run several local events on behalf of the Cardano Summit, deepening engagement with the Cardano Foundation and contributing to summit planning and future events.
• •Stakepool Network Expansion - Goma Stakepool Established (2022-present): Established a new stake pool in the Goma hub, supporting environmental protection and the conservation of gorillas in the Congo rainforest.
• •ASA: African Stakepool Alliance (2022-2023): Formed a coalition of stake pools across Africa, discussing challenges and opportunities within the ecosystem. Supported the creation of a similar network called the Asia Stakepool Alliance in collaboration with Razili Samsudin.
• •CIP-1694 Workshops (2023): Hosted a series of workshops, including an international gathering of various Wada hub members to discuss and promote CIP-1694.
• •Intersect Engagement (2024-present): Selected as an official Intersect Regional Hub and conducted workshops, training, and events, increasing memberships through our local engagement.

In addition to these major contributions, Wada has continuously worked on onboarding, events, workshops, hackathons, and other activities to expand Cardano's presence in Africa.

We have also forged numerous partnerships and collaborations over the last four years within the Cardano ecosystem, driven by the regions we support and the potential for the technology to make a local impact.

Are you currently building something that you would like to share?

• •Cardano Summit 2025: Collaborating with CATH and the Cardano Foundation to bring the Cardano Summit 2025 to Africa. Our goal is to significantly increase business adoption of the Cardano protocol across the continent.
• •Cardano Constitution Workshops: We are actively hosting workshops focused on the Cardano Constitution, engaging with the community to shape the future of Cardano governance.
• •DRep Program Rollout: In partnership with Intersect, we are working on the rollout of the DRep program, which aims to enhance decentralized representation within the Cardano ecosystem.
• •Intersect Regional Hubs: Supporting the launch of Intersect hubs across Africa, including local events and membership drives.
• •Hub Products: To better support the growth and functionality of Cardano-based products across Africa, our hubs are developing innovative solutions like Ekival and Adaex. It's important to note that Uptodate Developers, the company behind Adaex, is separate from the Wada Kinshasa Hub. While there's overlap in the individuals involved, Uptodate Developers operates independently, owning and managing its projects.
• •Licensing Program: We are establishing a licensing program to standardize operations across our local hubs, ensuring consistency and quality in our services.
• •Wada Membership Program: We will launch a membership program for individuals and enterprises soon. This program will include a digital platform that bridges access between Cardano, Web 3.0 products, and African consumer markets.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Virginia, Jzen, and StakepoolXYZ for their ongoing support since our stake pool’s inception. Their encouragement and assistance have been invaluable to our growth and success.

We also want to express our gratitude to all of our partners and supporters who continue to believe in our mission and inspire us to persevere. Your support is the driving force behind our efforts.

If any readers wish to get involved or have a partnership in mind, please contact us at hello@wada.org, and we will connect you with the right person.

Lastly, we would like to thank the Cardano Foundation for their delegation and support. It has helped us navigate through some lean times and remain committed to our goals!

Follow Wada on X (formerly Twitter), subscribe to the pool YouTube channel, or explore other ways to stay updated on Linktree.

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