Create BazaarPay.md

[Onyiajah]

BazaarPay grant application

Project Abstract

BazaarPay is a decentralized, backend-first infrastructure layer that enables seamless, non-custodial conversion between stablecoins and local fiat currencies starting with Nigeria. Built on Substrate, BazaarPay is designed to power the next generation of Web3 enabled fintech applications in Africa, where crypto adoption is high but compliant, open fiat-bridging infrastructure is nonexistent. We are developing core pallets for stablecoin issuance and management, efficient liquidity tracking, and dynamic FX rate synchronization to enable cross-currency payments within the ecosystem.

This initial grant will enable us to develop and establish the foundational on-chain logic of the BazaarPay protocol, moving us from our current detailed architectural design phase to concrete code development. Our objective is to create a transparent, accessible financial infrastructure that empowers underserved communities by leveraging on Polkadot.

Grant [level] (https://github.com/w3f/Grants-Program#level_slider-levels).

• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (BazaarPay.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (Polkadot AssetHub (USDC & DOT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that an agreed upon percentage of each milestone will be paid in vested DOT, to the Polkadot address listed in the application.
• I am aware that, in order to receive a grant, I (and the entity I represent) have to successfully complete a KYC/KYB check.
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• [] I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[keeganquigley]

Thanks for the application @Onyiajah a few questions:

Outside Polkadot, services like Ramp, MoonPay, and Transak are custodial and often blocked in African markets. Others like AjiraPay are centralized and lack transparency. Celo’s Mento protocol is promising but tied to its own chain.

What measures will you put in place to ensure BazaarPay won't be blocked? What makes your tool decentralized?

Finally, how do you plan to fund it after the grant funds run out?

[Onyiajah]

Thank you so much, @keeganquigley, for taking the time to review our application and raise such important questions. We're excited to share our response below.

In many African countries and particularly in Nigeria crypto adoption is growing rapidly, but the supporting infrastructure remains fragmented and fragile. Regulatory restrictions have made custodial platforms like Ramp, MoonPay, and Transak nearly unusable in local contexts. These services typically require credit cards or foreign banking credentials, which are often rejected by local banks or blocked entirely. In Nigeria, for example, crypto-linked card transactions are regularly declined, and banks have been instructed to flag or suspend accounts tied to crypto platforms. This has created a clear need for decentralized, locally compliant alternatives.

Additionally, these platforms depend on centralized custody and rigid KYC systems that often don’t recognize African identity documents. Their user onboarding flows assume Western infrastructure, and as a result, most African users are shut out by default. Furthermore, their services typically don’t integrate with mobile-first wallets like OPay, PalmPay, or Paga, which are widely used across the continent. The result is a system that is inaccessible, exclusionary, and prone to regulatory friction.

Rather than acting as a custodial bridge, BazaarPay provides a non-custodial, backend-first infrastructure for fiat ↔ stablecoin conversion that respects local compliance realities. Users never directly interact with “crypto.” Instead, local PSPs like OPay handle fiat payouts, while crypto mint/burn operations are triggered on-chain through Substrate runtime logic. All liquidity is managed via programmable reserves and off-chain workers that fetch verified FX rates.

Because we separate fiat logic from crypto execution, there’s no obvious regulatory touchpoint to block. This separation means crypto logic lives entirely on-chain, while fiat interactions happen through licensed, local PSPs. No custodial wallets. No centralized gateway. Just infrastructure. By integrating at the backend, BazaarPay allows developers to build their own compliant frontends —whether agent networks or mobile apps, we minimize risk while maximizing accessibility.

Decentralization by Design

From a decentralization perspective, BazaarPay is built entirely on Substrate and consists of:

• Custom pallets for minting and burning fiat-pegged tokens like mNaira
• Off-chain workers for FX syncing and reserve monitoring
• Modular APIs that any DApp or wallet can integrate
• Transparent receipt logic for every transaction, stored on-chain

There is no central authority, no custodial layer, and no opaque pricing. Instead, BazaarPay relies on deterministic on-chain logic to manage how value flows ensuring that what’s built is auditable, trustworthy, and most importantly, built to fit into real-world African economies.

Post-Grant Sustainability Plan

Looking ahead, BazaarPay is not just a one-off build we’ve designed it to scale as critical infrastructure. We’ve put together a clear plan for sustaining the project after the grant phase:

1. White-label licensing to African fintechs, offering BazaarPay as an infrastructure layer for apps that need fiat-to-stablecoin tools.
2. Transaction fees on each mint/burn operation, designed to cover liquidity operations and ongoing maintenance.
3. Strategic partnerships with ecosystems like Minima and other stablecoin liquidity networks to extend adoption and share costs.
4. Follow-on funding via the Polkadot treasury or impact grants aimed at financial inclusion and real-world Web3 adoption in emerging markets.

By prioritizing local realities and avoiding custodianship, we are building for developers and users who are currently excluded from the global crypto economy.

[Onyiajah]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[Onyiajah]

recheck

[keeganquigley]

Thanks for your answer @Onyiajah and sorry for the delay here. I will mark the application as ready for review and ping the committee. In the meantime, I have another question:

We require all of our grants to somehow benefit the Polkaodot ecosystem. In the "Ecosystem Fit" section, you mentioned a lot of benefits for the local NIgerian communities, which is great, but we're really referring to the Polkadot community here. Can you explain what components will be reusable by other Polkadot devs? Will you eventually integrate with parachains?

Thanks for any further insight you can provide.

[Onyiajah]

Thank you so much, @keeganquigley, for following up. We’re excited to share how BazaarPay creates real, reusable value for the Polkadot ecosystem both now and in the long term.

BazaarPay is a backend-first infrastructure protocol for fiat-to-stablecoin conversion, designed to meet urgent needs in emerging markets like Nigeria. But beyond that, it is modular, chain-agnostic, and fully Substrate-native giving it long-term value across the broader Polkadot ecosystem.

From mint and burn logic to FX oracles and escrow tooling, every component of BazaarPay is designed to empower other parachains, dApps, and builders working on real-world financial use cases.

Reusable Modules and Tools for the Ecosystem

1. Substrate Pallets for Fiat-Backed Tokens
   We’re developing pallets that handle fiat-to-token minting and burning, reserve-backed issuance, and liquidity tracking. These pallets are currency-agnostic — starting with mNaira, but extendable to others like mKES, mGHS, and mXOF. Any parachain building for commerce, remittances, or DeFi can easily adapt them to support localized stablecoins.

2. Off-Chain Workers for FX Feeds and Banking Events
   Our off-chain workers fetch verified FX data from trusted sources and sync mint/burn events with fiat deposits. These workers can be reused by other Substrate-based projects that want to securely connect to traditional financial systems without building from scratch.

3. Escrow and Conditional Payment Logic
   We’re developing on-chain logic for multi-party escrow, settlement based on delivery confirmation, and dispute resolution. This toolkit is valuable for any parachain supporting marketplaces, lending protocols, or P2P transactions.

4. Public API and SDK for Builders
   Our public API and SDK allow developers to mint tokens, confirm payments, and retrieve auditable receipts. These tools are designed for seamless integration into wallets, POS systems, agent platforms, and dApps — supporting builders across both parachain and non-parachain builders within the Polkadot ecosystem.

Future Integration with Polkadot Parachains

Yes, we plan to integrate with the parachain landscape. Our roadmap includes:

• XCM-Compatible Fiat Tokens
  mNaira and future tokens will support cross-parachain messaging (XCM), enabling fiat-backed liquidity in DeFi apps, savings tools, and prediction markets.

• Wallet Compatibility
  We’ll support Substrate-native wallets like Talisman and Nova Wallet, allowing users to hold, move, and transact fiat-backed assets within the broader Polkadot ecosystem.

• Decentralized Identity Integration
  We plan to collaborate with DID solutions like KILT Protocol to support privacy-preserving, locally verified identities. This will enable seamless KYC onboarding and compliance with VASP frameworks and sandbox requirements.

Why This Matters for the Polkadot Community

The value of BazaarPay extends far beyond one market. By building reusable Substrate primitives including mint/burn modules, FX oracles, and escrow logic, we’re contributing tools that:

• Strengthen Polkadot’s presence in frontier and underserved economies
• Support developers building regulated fiat on-ramps and local stablecoins
• Bridge crypto-native assets with local money systems built on Substrate, not custodial rails

BazaarPay is the first Web3-native, decentralized fiat infrastructure protocol built in and for Africa — and it’s powered entirely by Substrate. That gives Polkadot a unique first-mover advantage in one of the fastest-growing Web3 regions in the world.

[PieWol]

Hey @Onyiajah ,
thanks for your application. Do you already have clients that have committed to your solution? An agreement with a bank would be interesting.

How do you plan on marketing this solution to the public? Without the effort to market this product, the tech itself doesn't look too impactful. We don't fund any marketing activity through this program, but I'm keen to hear about anything you might have going on.

Thanks.

[Onyiajah]

Thanks @PieWol for the question. Tech only creates impact when it meets the market. While BazaarPay is still pre-MVP, we’re not building in a vacuum.

We’ve already had conversations with over 20 informal vendors, OTC crypto agents, and small fintech teams in Nigeria who process millions of dollars in USDT ↔ Naira trades every month through WhatsApp and Telegram. These grassroots operators are already solving real liquidity problems — just without infrastructure. BazaarPay is designed to serve and scale what they already do, offering a stable, API-driven backend that’s non-custodial, programmable, and compliant-ready.

Go-To-Market Strategy (Beyond Paid Ads)

We understand W3F doesn’t fund marketing, and that’s perfectly aligned with our strategy. BazaarPay’s adoption approach is community-led, embedded, and focused on trust networks that already exist.

1. Agent Networks on WhatsApp & Telegram

Nigeria’s real crypto economy runs on chat, not centralized exchanges. While formal platforms report ~$59B in annual volume, estimates from Techpoint Africa and Punch NG suggest informal P2P trading exceeds $500B annually.

These vendors are our first go-to-market engine. With dashboards, agent tools, and escrow support, BazaarPay turns them into micro-liquidity hubs enabling real economic participation while maintaining compliance and transparency.

2. Embedded Distribution via Existing Apps

We’re in early talks with mobile wallet providers like PalmPay, Paga, and OPay to integrate BazaarPay rails into real fiat payout flows. These apps already serve tens of millions of users. By embedding BazaarPay into what users are already doing, we create passive, high-leverage distribution without needing users to install anything new. We expect these conversations to advance as we finalize our MVP.

3. Plug-and-Play APIs for Builders

Early-stage savings apps, remittance tools, and some marketplace developers have already expressed interest in BazaarPay’s backend. Our composable, open APIs will let builders plug in mint/burn logic, FX settlement, and transaction logging without navigating bank integrations themselves.

We’ll support this with free sandbox access, easy-to-use SDKs, and bounties for local fintech teams who want to test the rails early.

4. Partnerships with NGOs & Tech Communities

We’ll be collaborating with grassroots developer hubs like Decagon, Founders Hub, and The Bulb to run pilot integrations. These hubs have reach, trust, and real users and our open infrastructure gives them tools to create impact.

We’re also engaging financial inclusion NGOs and local blockchain associations to help co-distribute and validate BazaarPay in underserved communities.

Crypto isn’t aspirational in Nigeria it’s survival tech. People already use it every day to navigate inflation, economic instability, and limited banking access. What’s missing isn’t adoption, it’s infrastructure.

BazaarPay fills that gap with the right tools for the right people:

• Non-custodial, backend-first infrastructure
• Developer-friendly, open-source tooling
• A real bridge between Web3 and everyday commerce

We’re not trying to manufacture demand. It already exists. We’re simply giving it rails to make what’s already working safer, more transparent, and ready to scale.

[PieWol]

Hey @Onyiajah ,

Thank you for your detailed answer. Even though it sounds like you are on the right path, we have funded to many payment infrastructure within this grants program without seeing notable traction. Sadly since there is no hard commitment of any payment provider to your product which would result in usage, we unfortunately decided to not support your project financially through this grant program. It couldn't gather enough approvals from the committee. Nevertheless we wish you all the best for your future endeavours.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Piet