Zcash Latinoamérica

Problem Statement

Latin America is a region with very large potential for adoption and use of cryptocurrency, yet there are very few resources in Spanish providing information about Zcash technology, its benefits, its developments, and the impact it can have in the region.

Motivation

The goal of this proposal is to create Zcash Latinoamérica, an online hub of information related to Zcash, the technology, the ecosystem, news and guides, presented in Spanish.

Historically, Latin America has seen the many negative effects of fiat currencies with multiple instances of economical upheaval like the crisis in Argentina in 1989 and the crisis in Ecuador in 1999.

The legacy financial systems in Latin America are antiquated, bureaucratic and slow, creating many barriers for the flow of capital within the region and outside of it. It is estimated that remittances sent back into the region by immigrants living abroad is 2.4% of the region's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and growing, with some countries reaching over 20% of their GDP. This is despite the high cost of sending these funds to the region.

Latin America as a region has a very high proportion of smartphone users compared to the population, there is a great opportunity for adoption of a technology supported by mobile devices.

For these reasons, among others, Latin America is well suited for a number of use cases for Zcash. However, there is a gap in information available in Spanish.

We believe we can begin filling in the gap, accelerating awareness and adoption of Zcash, aligning with ECC's 2022-2025 roadmap of exploring opportunities in this region.

Background

We are a father-and-son team with decades of combined experience in technology consulting, project management, product management in South America and the United States. We are both native Spanish speakers and fluent in English.

Rene Vergara Larrea
- pitmutt on Keybase.
- Member of the Zcash Community Forums: pitmutt.
- Current developer and maintainer of ZGo.
- Authored the documentation for the SecretSwap DEX before its launch in the spring of 2021.
Rene Vergara Araque
- reneve59 on Keybase.
- Creator of GeoVSU, a GIS-enabled web application for the real estate market in Ecuador.
- Creator of the educational videos for GeoVSU.

Technical Approach

Creation of the Zcash Latinoamérica website at zcash-latam.io, providing the Spanish-speaking community with:
- Zcash Ecosystem news
- Blockchain basics
- Zcash technology basics
- Digital privacy basics
- Guides for major applications in the Zcash Ecosystem
Distribute the information and engage the Spanish-speaking community:
- Twitter account: ZcashLatAm
- Telegram channel

Execution Risks

For our full description of the project risks, see the Full Proposal.

Downsides

None identified.

Schedule

We propose to execute this project during a six month period, with the intention of having this proposal accepted in 2021 to align the launch of the website with the launch of the NU5 upgrade in early 2022. See Full Proposal for a detailed breakdown.

After completing this first phase and reviewing the metrics, we intend to submit a follow-on grant proposal to continue with the project.

Evaluation Plan

The project will provide monthly updates according to the proposed schedule:

Report 1:
- Links to all social media channels.
- Prototype of website demonstrating look and feel.
Report 2:
- Website live in production.
- Social media metrics:
  - Number of Twitter followers
  - Twitter engagement
  - Number of Telegram members
Reports 3 through 6:
- Website metrics:
  - Number of articles published
  - Number of comments
  - Number of visitors
- Social media metrics:
  - Number of Twitter followers
  - Twitter engagement
  - Number of Telegram members