Maureen Anyanwu and Kadijah Amusat were planning to sign up for the Techpoint Africa Blockchain Summit (TABS) Web3 Hackathon on Sunday, May 1, 2022, in the hopes of winning a share of the $2,500 prize pool.
They had until May 2, 2022, to register, so that was not much time to come up with a plan. Only 30 minutes remained before the form’s deadline, and they still hadn’t decided on a Web3-based strategy to pitch.
Anyanwu had the bright idea of creating a blockchain-based digital library right before the submission window closed.
With time running out, Amusat began recording Anyanwu’s ideas in the form they were being spoken. The plan was to construct a library where writers could mint their works for sale in the same way that artists mint works of art.
The authors would still own the book, just like NFTs in the arts and music. Metadata might be used as a digital copyright system, providing incredible new potential for independent creators, as explained by Amusat. The portal would accept cryptocurrency payments from anyone worldwide to purchase books.
Anyanwu and Amusat had a good idea for a blockchain, but they lacked the technical expertise to implement it independently. Blessing Emah was consulted since she had prior experience with developing smart contracts.
The three ladies signed up as team Blockchain Baddies, and on May 21, 2022, they came second at the TABS Web3 Hackathon with their impromptu project, Open Books.
Now, five months later, the Blockchain Baddies are taking their concept and entering it into a Web3 accelerator called Women Build Web3 in the hopes of receiving funds to launch their blockchain-powered business.
Before their shared interest in technology brought them together, Anyawu, Amusat, and Emah were scattered across the country and working on separate projects.
Before the COVID-19 epidemic, Amusat thought that being an engineer, doctor, or lawyer was the only way to make a name for oneself.
Before the COVID-19 epidemic, Amusat thought that being an engineer, doctor, or lawyer was the only way to make a name for oneself.
Amusat didn’t plan on pursuing a career in technology until after he graduated from the University of Ilorin in Kwara State, Nigeria, in 2019. In 2020, though, after COVID-19 broke out, she happened upon web programming and other kinds of technology, started learning about them and quickly became very interested in them.
She went to all tech-related events and applied for any grants, fellowships, and internships she could get her hands on, where she met fellow tech enthusiasts, Anyanwu and Emah.
Blockchain Baddies have been up to various activities since May, when they won the hackathon. They had been too preoccupied with life after the TABS Web3 Hackathon to do much about Open Books, the idea that helped them come second at the TABS Web3 Hackathon.
Amusat claims that she applied to the acceleration program because she understood she would need motivation, a reason for her to keep thinking about Open Books.
“After we won the hackathon in May, a lot of people have been reaching out to me personally, telling us to build on the project because it’s a good project. They said even if it wasn’t something we wanted to make money from, we could just make it open source and have a baby project on the side,” she said. “But we just came for the hackathon; we didn’t know it would be this serious. And in the midst of trying to figure out our personal lives, I knew we’d need something to help us continue caring about the project. So I applied for the accelerator programme. They’re going to train us not only on how to get funding but how to be a real startup.”
This is the first batch of Women Build Web3, an accelerator program for women and non-binary developers studying and building in Web3.
Amusat thinks the most important thing for Open Books and Blockchain Baddies right now is to concentrate on creating the firm rather than worrying about what the future holds. She does concede that the platform could go through several modifications, but that at this point, what counts most is development.
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