Launch a Regional Sandbox African community through "The Sandbox Naija Jam"

1. Project Overview

The Sandbox Naija Jam is a multifaceted initiative to onboard Africans, starting with Nigerian students, creators, gamers, and Web2/Web3 enthusiasts, into The Sandbox ecosystem, fostering blockchain literacy and creative participation in the metaverse.

The project will establish native blockchain clubs in 4 Nigerian universities across 4 cities, host educational workshops, and organize a regional Game Jam to encourage community-generated content and game creation using The Sandbox’s no-code Game Maker.

Primary goals include
(1) 320 IRL attendees
(2) Launching a sustainable Sandbox-native African community (starting from Nigeria) to drive regional engagement.
(3) creating 20 new experiences on the platform
(4) Onboarding 1000 new users and community members to The SandboxGame.

The target audience includes university students, local creators, and gamers (both Web3 and transitioning from Web2 to Web3), addressing the need for accessible education and onboarding in Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem. We intend to achieve this by combining hands-on workshops, community building, and incentivized creation.

2. Problem Identification

According to reports from Chainalysis, Nigeria sits at #2 in global crypto adoption. However, Nigeria’s tech-savvy youth face barriers to entering Web3 due to limited blockchain education, complex onboarding processes, and lack of localized community support within The Sandbox ecosystem. There is a need for hands-on exposure to Sandbox tools, with few or none of Nigeria’s tech populace familiar with voxel-based creation tools like Game Maker and VoxEdit. The Sandbox’s global success contrasts with low African participation, with fewer experiences originating from this region. This gap risks excluding a vibrant market from the metaverse. This is why I reached out to Voxel factory to help provide the adequate educational infrastructure needed to fill this gap. Hence, The Sandbox Naija Jam addresses these challenges by simplifying onboarding, providing localized education, and fostering a regional community to sustain engagement. This will be the launchpad for a regional Sandbox-native community (TheSandbox Africa)

3. Solution Approach

The Sandbox Naija Jam will deploy a three-pronged approach: education, onboarding, and community building.

Education: We’ll be implementing 3 levels of education viz: Training the Trainers event, IRL events in 4 Nigerian universities to establish blockchain clubs, delivering workshops on blockchain basics, TheSandBoxGame, and Game Maker usage. Workshops will use The Sandbox’s Creator Portal and no-code tools to teach voxel asset creation and game design. Thirdly, an online hands-on building and Demo day.
Onboarding: Host a Naija Game Jam, incentivizing 20 exceptional creators and participants with mini $SAND rewards (modeled on the Game Maker Fund). Participants will receive guided onboarding to TheSandBox.
Community Building: Launch the Sandbox Africa Community via a dedicated Telegram or Discord and X (500+ expected). The community will sustain engagement through, educational posts, guides, monthly community calls and participation.

This approach combines in-person engagement, practical creation, and localized support.

4. Impact Measurement

User Onboarding: 320 attendees across all events (80 at each event).
Engagement Rate: Achieve 70% workshop attendance and 50% Game Jam participation retention. Measured via registration and completion data.
Experience Creation: Aim for 20 new published experiences from Naija Jam participants.
Community Growth: Establish the Sandbox Africa Community with 500 active members (Discord/Telegram and X). Tracked via platform analytics.
Event report & feedback: Videos, pictures, registration/attendee forms, and other relevant documentation will be published.

5. Technical Implementation & Timeline

Milestone Deliverables Expected Completion Date % of Total Grant Request How to demonstrate
#1
Pre-event marketing & community infrastructure Setup of X, Discord or Telegram, ; design of event branded assets; recruitment of community mod, graphic designer; online/offline promo publicity July 20, 2025 6.49% Links to these platforms, marketing materials, design samples, and CM onboarding documentation
#2 The Sandbox Africa “Train The Trainers” Program in Partnership with Voxel Factory This is a 2-week program that empowers local leaders through five key phases: recruitment, training, peer practice, certification, and continued support. These participants will receive hands-on training, access to educational tools, and mentorship from the Voxel Factory team to equip and enable us deliver grassroots education effectively. We plan to train 10 to 20 trainers August 4, 2025 19.48% Registration forms, attendance sheet, feedback forms, training curriculum, certification records, and recorded trainings
#3 Host TheSandbox Naija Jam (4 IRL Events + Training + Demo Day) Host Naija Jam in four universities: OAU, McPherson, UI, and FUTA. Includes hands-on training sessions, building workshops, and a final Demo Day where teams present their projects. A 1-week judging period will follow to select winners. The tutors at these events will be successful participants onboarded through the “Train the Trainers” program October 7, 2025 45.45% Photos/videos, event recap posts, social media coverage, event agenda, registration forms and attendance sheets
#4 Educational videos, animations and how-to guides on TheSandBoxGame, updates, and key developments (This milestone’s actual commencement is from the begining of the program) 8 video contents across these topics: 1) What is the Sandbox? (2) getting started with GameMaker; (3) Understanding SAND, LAND and the Sandbox ecosystem (4) Guide on How to use VoxEdit (5) The SandboxDAO (6) SandboxNaija Jam (8) The Future of Gaming with Sandbox (8) Opportunities in TheSandBox ecosystem. (There may be more as the program progresses) Multiple inforgraphics and ecosystem updates during and beyond the program October 30, 2025 19.48% Links to published videos, engagement metrics, and visuals
#5 Final reporting & compensation These include 1 documented written report submitted to TheSandBoxDAO, 4 video summary of all events across all schools, pictures and reward distribution to eligible participants October 15, 2025 9.09% Written report, media assets, reward disbursement transaction hash and screenshots, and testimonial quotes from participants

6. Team Qualifications

  1. Uchenna Agams Onuegbu, Project Lead (Education, Community and Events)
    X: https://x.com/agamidodaigwe
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agams/
    Linktree: Uchenna Agams Onuegbu | Linktree

Bio: Uchenna Agams Onuegbu is a seasoned Web3 professional with over five years of experience in blockchain community building, education, and research. With a strong track record of leading impactful initiatives, he has played a pivotal role in expanding blockchain adoption across Africa. Uchenna has organized and spoken at over 20 blockchain events across Nigeria.

Notable roles and achievements:

  • As Arbitrum ambassador, designed and launched The Arbitrum Campus Connect: an initiative aimed at onboarding Nigerian students into blockchain. We’ve successfully engaged, educated, and onboarded over 1000 students through a mix of in-person and virtual events (https://x.com/ArbCConnect).
  • As TON Synd, Co-Founder, TON Nigeria: Core contributor to the growth of TON blockchain and its ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa (https://x.com/agamidodaigwe/status/1875616055835738405).
  • As Community Lead (Education & Collaboration), FTTDAO designed and managed learning initiatives and coordinated community events and partnerships. Coordinated over 100 online and IRL community events across various African countries, growing the community to over 5000 members during a short period.
  • Winner #BetterOnStellar ideation.
  1. The CryptoOracle, Project Lead (Content and Media)
    X: https://x.com/0xcryptooracle
    TikTok: TikTok - Make Your Day
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecryptooracle
    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Crypto_Oracle

Bio: The Crypto Oracle is a Web3 educator and content creator who’s passionate about making crypto easy for everyone. Based in Nigeria, he breaks down blockchain and DeFi concepts into clear, relatable lessons that welcome beginners to the Web3 world. As a trusted voice in Africa’s growing crypto community, The Crypto Oracle inspires newcomers and seasoned enthusiasts alike with his down-to-earth approach and infectious enthusiasm for blockchain’s potential.

Notable achievements:

  1. Voxel Factory (Technical)
    X: https://x.com/Voxel_Factory
    Headed by four prominent Sandbox Game builders and Game Jam multi-awardees and created an experience for an IP through Bharatbox. Voxel Factory will set up the curriculum, materials, technical support, and mentorship needed for the project.

Notable achievements:
Voxel Factory’s achievements are too numerous to mention. All four team members were ranked in the recently concluded AS5 Game Jam..

7. Budget Allocation & Sustainability

Budget Allocation & Sustainability

  1. Pre-event Marketing and Community Infrastructure – $1,000
    This covers the foundational setup and awareness for the initiative. It includes setting up communication platforms (e.g., X, Discord or Telegram) and hiring a competent team of CMs, designers & social media managers, and executing both online and in-real-life publicity campaigns to grow visibility and engagement.
  2. Educational Content Creation – $3000
    Funds will support the development of structured learning materials, such as beginner-friendly tutorials, video walkthroughs, graphic assets, and guides that introduce new users to Sandbox creation tools and ecosystem fundamentals.
  3. Technical Team (Voxel Factory) – $3,000
    This will fund a small team of voxel artists and technical mentors who will assist trainees, develop reusable asset templates, and provide expert support during and after training sessions.
  4. Event Organization – $7,000
    Covers planning and executing :
  • Online Train-the-Trainers (Target: 10 to 20 particpants)
  • 4 In-Real-Life (IRL) community events/workshops across key Nigerian cities (Target: 80 attendees per event)
  • Online Demo Day for showcasing participant projects and announcing winners.
  1. Event Reporting & Compensation – $1,000
    This includes the production of detailed post-event reports, documentation, media assets (videos, photos), and stipends or token rewards for the organizing team, trainers, and standout participants.

How did you hear about the Sandbox DAO Grants Program?
TheSandBox DAO X handle & Questbook

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Thanks for applying and sharing how you learned about the small grants program!
Currently this grant request is far outside of the budget available for grants in this domain.
For this large of an ask, a SIP would be a better fit. Feel free to learn more about the SIP process and share your ideas here:

Hello, @Money. Thank you for the feedback. I’ll go through the SIP and apply accordingly.

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