UVGrow

Website- welcome page
Website- goal of our app
Website- details of mentorship program
Website- contact details
Web Portal for Peer-to-peer Transaction
To create new business account
Details of business account
Transaction confirmation by MetaMask
Request generated by Business owner for withdrawing money

Inspiration

As the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic came into sharper focus, the position of the nation’s small businesses appeared to be particularly bleak. Many small businesses closed because they were at risk financially after the crisis. They are unable to get loans from banks to re-establish their business. We found that many of these loans can be risky when the business owners don't have enough training in administration. For this reason, business training and mentorships are conditions to the loans in our platform.

We decided to focus on economic development and research that small businesses played a large role in kickstarting local economies and empowering communities. Microfinancing is a way to support these small companies. The peer-to-peer aspect encourages people in developed countries to care about philanthropy without an economic burden on them. Operating costs are covered by a 1% interest that businesses pay on the loan. This project was a way to truly incorporate the interests and abilities of all the members of our team: blockchain, smart contracts, finance and coding of webpages.

What it does

By providing a platform for peer-to-peer lending, we are cutting out the middleman of a bank, where there can be sunk costs. We will be providing a one-stop station where local businesses can present their venture and gain contributions from angel investors and large businesses under their CSR scheme.

Investors have the incentive of using UVGrow as they know the money is being transferred conditionally and thus towards the right cause. They also gain social capital and the warm glow of giving. On the receiving end, entrepreneurs in developing countries get mentorship, funding at each step, and support to pursue their ventures and benefit their communities.

At every stage, the owner will make requests for each transaction. The investors can approve or discard the requests and provide their opinions. The request will be finalised according to the votes given by the investors. This will ensure transparency of every step being taken in the business.

We strive to provide foundational business education and advise business owners on the next steps they can take to grow and provide more value in their country. For a sustainable business model, we require business owners who have been given advising resources to advise other entrepreneurs in their area. Our goal is to bring sustainable business education, practices, and resources to entrepreneurs in developing countries.

How we built it

Using HTML, CSS and JavaScript we built the landing page website. We build a web app using React.js where local entrepreneurs present their current business. For peer-to-peer lending, we used blockchain and ethereum with smart contracts. For Frontend, we used React.js and Next.js. For the integration of blockchain and react we used web3. Ethereum account is required for the web portal. Smart contracts are digital contracts stored on the blockchain. Transaction will only take place when a contract is permitted. Whenever the business manager will make a request it will only be approved when votes are more than 50%. This is how all steps in business are monitored by mentors and investors. Hence, the risk of failure decreases.

Challenges we ran into

Because there are so many things to solve when considering FinTech as the theme, we endeavoured to come up with an idea that had an effective impact on developing communities. Integrating Blockchain and Ethereum, within the limited timeline, with the front-end was a difficult task. We struggled with choosing an interface for the users. We finally came up with Next.js as an impactful solution to this challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Working together as a team. Brainstorming hard to come up with a succinct idea. Using the latest and emerging blockchain technology, which could change the world as it can get rid of all the inefficiencies of centralized systems.

What's next for UVGrow

As a real-world platform, UVGrow can help business leaders and policymakers develop interventions to protect small businesses, ensure that they can participate in the recovery, and put more of them on a more resilient footing in the years to come. This would contribute to the economy of our nation.