Mellow Finance

Credit Made Easy!

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Inspiration

We were inspired to create Mellow Finance, a platform that empowers young Africans financially through cryptocurrency-backed credit. Problem: The traditional credit system often discriminates against Gen Z and millennials who lack traditional assets like homes and land. This lack of access to credit can hinder their ability to achieve financial goals, such as starting a business, buying a home, or pursuing higher education. Opportunity: The growing adoption of cryptocurrencies among younger generations presents a unique opportunity to create a more inclusive credit system. By leveraging crypto assets as collateral, Mellow Finance can provide credit access to individuals who might otherwise be excluded from traditional financial services.

What it does

Mellow Finance offers a decentralized credit platform that allows users to borrow stablecoins against their crypto assets. Mellow Finance offers a decentralized credit platform that allows users to borrow stablecoins against their crypto assets. User Journey

  1. A User visits the Mellow Finance platform and logs in, providing necessary information.
  2. Deposit Collateral User connects their cryptocurrency wallet to the Mellow platform and deposits the required collateral (e.g., Ethereum). The smart contract verifies the deposit and mints the equivalent amount of local stablecoin (e.g., Celo Kenya shilling).
  3. Borrow Stablecoin User uses the minted stablecoin to make a payment or loan, such as a deposit for a house.
  4. Repay the Loan User repays the borrowed stablecoin amount plus interest to the Mellow smart contract. The smart contract verifies the repayment and releases the original collateral back to the user's wallet.

How we built it

We are a team of 3, leveraging diverse skill sets to build the mobile dApp in the following ways: Design and Planning: Figma: We used Figma to create a visual mockup of the website's user interface (UI), ensuring a clear understanding of the desired design and layout. Canva: We utilized Canva to create a visually appealing pitch deck

Front-End Development: React and TypeScript: We chose these for the front-end development due to their popularity, efficiency, and ability to manage complex applications. Next.js: For navigation Tailwind CSS: For custom styling

Back-End Development: Smart Contracts: We deployed smart contracts on the Celo blockchain to handle the core functionalities of the dApp, such as loan issuance, repayment, and collateral management. Celo Alfajores Faucet: We used the Celo Alfajores testnet faucet to obtain mock Celo tokens for testing and development purposes. Metamask Wallet: We connected our dApp to a Metamask wallet to enable user interaction with the smart contracts and facilitate transactions

Challenges we ran into

Building the Mellow Finance dApp was a challenging but rewarding experience. As a team with limited prior experience in Typescript, we faced a steep learning curve. Understanding the intricacies of the Celo blockchain and minting Mento tokens also presented its own set of hurdles. Debugging smart contracts can be a complex process, and we encountered our fair share of errors and unexpected behaviors. These challenges often led to long hours and sleepless nights, as we were determined to overcome obstacles and deliver a robust product. Despite these challenges, our team's perseverance and dedication allowed us to successfully navigate the development process.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are thrilled by the overall progress we have made in building the smart contracts and adding the various functionalities. We became proficient in using development tools and frameworks like React, Tailwind CSS, and Metamask for building dApps. While preparing for the Mento Hackathon, we got the opportunity to participate at the Eth Capetown hackathon, where we got 2nd place on the mobile dApp track and won Quick Node credits

What we learned

One of the biggest takeaways was the importance of effective teamwork and collaboration with other talented developers. On the technical side, we gained valuable experience working with Typescript, and deepened our understanding of smart contract development on the Celo blockchain, including minting tokens, interacting with contracts, and handling errors. We learned to always seek help whenever we got stuck, and this helped expedite the processWe realized the importance of asking for help when we encountered challenges, which accelerated our progress.

What's next for Mellow Finance

Q 4 2024 Front end Our focus will be to optimize UI/UX experience on Mellow finance for USDT/Ckes pool and Ethereum/ckes pool.

Back end Migrate smart contracts on testnet (Alfajores) to the Celo main net (L2) by Dec 2024
Test for smart contract vulnerabilities

Fundraising Participate in more hackathons and apply for grants to prepare for launch in Q1

Q1 2025 Launch Mellow Finance on Minipay and Valora dapp store Perform a user pilot targeted at 500 Gen z and millennial minipay and Valora users Partner with Celo Africa DAO for Mellow Finance activation on campuses Complete and publish the results of the pilot

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