Nesthub for Zcash Developers

Community Grants Applications
1

This is Damilare here, founder of Nesthub Community in Ibadan. Over the past year, we’ve built one of the most relentless developer education engines in Southwestern Nigeria. Nesthub started as a simple idea: What if young African developers had a real physical home to learn Web3, not just YouTube videos and scattered Twitter threads? Fast forward to today, we’ve trained hundreds across multiple cohorts, partnered with leading ecosystems like ICP and Stellar, with plans to turn Ibadan into an unexpected but undeniable hotspot for blockchain talent.

Here’s what we’ve learned: nothing, absolutely nothing beats IRL momentum. When you put ambitious developers, experienced engineers, community builders, and curious students under one roof for a month, something electric happens. People ship faster, connections strengthen, ideas mature, and the ecosystem compounds in ways online communities simply cannot match. Nesthub has effectively become a training village — a real-world proving ground for the next generation of African builders.

Now, here’s where Zcash comes in.

For years, African devs have been building apps with almost zero understanding of privacy. That’s a huge gap, and it’s also a massive opportunity. When I saw the recent surge of interest around Zcash’s potential in emerging markets, everything clicked: Africa needs privacy, developers want privacy tools, and Nesthub already has the infrastructure to teach it at scale.

So here’s the bold vision:

In January, February, and March 2026, Nesthub is running full-scale, month-long developer build-camps, and Zcash will be the backbone of our privacy curriculum.
Not one-off workshops. Not weekend hackathons. Full IRL immersion.

We’re teaching zero-knowledge fundamentals, shielded transactions, Zcash SDKs, Lightwalletd, Rust tooling, ZK libraries, real-world payments, everything. And we’re not stopping at theory. ZEC becomes the internal currency of the cohort: payments, snacks, reimbursements, incentives, and micro-grants all run in Zcash. Developers won’t just learn privacy; they’ll live it.

Across these cohorts, we’re expecting 60+ developers, many building their first privacy-preserving tools: donation platforms, payment gateways, automated scripts, mobile wallets, identity layers, university-facing products. And with each cohort ending in a Zcash-focused meetup + mini-hackathon, we’re accelerating adoption while expanding the builder community.

Everything will be documented, tutorials, video content, interviews, GitHub repos, and a replicable “Zcash-in-Africa” playbook that anyone from Lagos to Ibadan to Abuja to Accra to Kigali can pick up and implement.

Here’s the truth:
If Zcash wants real-world adoption, not hype cycles, Africa is one place to lookout for is. And Nesthub is already sitting on the ground floor of that opportunity.

This is the full grant application on GitHub, where you can see the milestones, budget, and structure.

**Does a Zcash-native developer ecosystem in Nigeria make sense to you?
**
We’ll appreciate any questions or feedback!

Let’s build something legendary on Zcash and let’s build it in the real world.

1 Like
Zcash Community Grants Meeting Minutes 12/8/2025
2

Nothing like this has ever happened in Nigeria or even across most of Africa and I’d genuinely love to see it happen.

A lot of developers here are interested in privacy tech, zero-knowledge tooling, and decentralized infrastructure, but there are almost no structured programs, hubs, or on-ground support systems focused on Zcash. An initiative like this could create real momentum on the continent.

If there’s any opportunity to extend NestHub or create a regional version for Africa, I’d be excited to support, participate, and help grow that ecosystem.

3

Yes we look forward to expanding this .

But we are taking it slow by conquering different locations one at a time .

Thank you for this , we love that you love what we’re doing

4

for someone who has had to source for docs and developer handnotes, I’d really appreciate an IRL platform like this. I hope zcash and nesthub will make this happen soon.

I really believe there’s a little you can do learning and building alone as compared to how fast and huge you can do when you’re with like minds.
I really can’t wait to be a part of this when it starts and I’m buzzing for you guys. Bring it on please!

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5

Good one mate…

thank you for creating this I see IRL dev workshop as a means of bringing together devs to educate them of what you represent and bringing this to Zcash privacy would be a very great idea as I haven’t really attended anyone yet but this would easily get the job one

kudos to you on this one

1 Like
6

Exactly the community I’ve been looking forward to becoming a part of.

Being the very first zcash dev education I’ve come across in Africa, this community definitely promises to be special and I trust that it will live up to that promise.

I hope this initiative (dev education) is planning on expanding to other countries across Africa though.

7

Yes we’re planning that and we believe the zcash team is gradually increasing the privacy footprint in Africa

Look forward to seeing more Dev boot camp on privacy in Africa.

If you don’t mind me asking which country are you from?

8

This is really a wonderful opportunity especially for people like me, creators who are looking into exploring blockchain development with the end goal of not just creating content but also becoming builders that build Blockchain solutions solving problems here in Nigeria.

I will really love to be a part of this program and hopefully, there are plans in place for those coming from places far from the venue.

1 Like
9

I wanted to ask, apart from onboarding talent, what other benefits does the meetup bring to the Zcash ecosystem?

Like for instance, I’m like working on a solution around transport delivery on campus and plans to integrate blockchain for stuffs like payment gateways

Is there a means to work around that with Zcash?

10

Ohh

That’s very cool, I’m glad that you are planning to build a product even while still on campus. There are different way to integrate zcash into your payment solutions. Like your clients having a shielded address when placing an order for an anonymous delivery to someone else for a surprise birthday :joy: if you understand what I mean while you send the order details to the receiver without risk of sender details being revealed.

All this things and more will be taught during the bootcamp.

11

Just coming across this now and I honestly love the direction of this project. I went through the full grant proposal and the vision makes a lot of sense, especially the part about using the bootcamp to actually ship real products for the Zcash ecosystem out of Africa.

I’m really curious about the meetup though…

Is it strictly for developers, or can non-technical people who are interested in Zcash also attend?

And aside from onboarding talent, what other benefits does the meetup bring to the Zcash ecosystem?

Because from what I understand, the whole point of the bootcamp is to create a pipeline where African builders can contribute real tools, products, and ideas that strengthen Zcash globally.

If there’s more info about that, I’d love to know. This honestly looks like something worth supporting.

1 Like
12

Thank you so much

The meetup is not strictly for developers anyone interested in blockchain technology and privacy can attend.

The meetup is also a way to increase zcash digital footprint in Africa by ensuring privacy is understood and appreciated and not miscommunicated. And yes you are right that is exactly the mission of the bootcamp

Another reason for the bootcamp is to showcase to the world through zcash that Nigeria(Africa) is a home of hardcore talent and innovation.

13

Thank you for submitting your proposal. After careful consideration by the ZCG and a period for community comments on the forum, the committee has decided not to advance this proposal.

We genuinely appreciate the work and dedication you put into your application and hope you’ll continue to participate and contribute to the Zcash community.

14

Thank you so much for your time