Clement Hugbo talks about his passion for blockchain and Africa.

“Based on my experience, I know that most products start from architecture and design” – Clement Hugbo.

Clement Hugbo is the CEO of Web3D and Crevatal. A product designer and an engineer with experience from working with organizations such as Index Coop, Nestcoin, Polygon and Bundle, he talks about the desire to showcase product designers and how he utilizes his personal relationships to achieve this.

What inspired the decision to work with blockchain technology?

Before becoming a product designer, I was an enterprise resource planning (ERP) consultant and developer at IRSL Logistics. We used Systems Application and Products (SAP) to manage the day-to-day business activities of organizations such as Dangote and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). One of the most important things that attracted me to Web3 was that it is based on an open technology where consumers have more control over their data. This appreciation of data comes from my time managing asset management, risk management and process control for large organizations.

My experience as a designer opened my eyes to the limited possibilities a designer has to show off his value. I quickly realized that blockchain technology is the most prominent way to create a path for designers to access a network of opportunities. The speed and simplicity with which anyone can use this technology to demonstrate value is fascinating.

How did you manage to combine your job at Nestcoin and the role of CEO of both Web3D and Crevatal?

It has not been an easy trip to juggle these roles. Before I started my career in technology, I used to work in the service; It is common knowledge that there is a lot of multi-tasking in the church. During my 3 years in the service, I had to perform various roles for the church. This gave me an insight into balancing many things at once.

Blocasset’s audience is very niche, the product only serves designers in the Web3 site. What inspired you to develop it?

The bloc started as a personal project. The idea came from my experience in designing Web3 products. One of the problems people faced at the beginning of the blockchain adoption 5 years ago was the lack of user experience using blockchain products. For me, the biggest challenge when I had to design products for the blockchain was that it was quite tough to get pre-stored assets for my designs.

As a designer or front-end developer in Web3, one thing that is required of you is speed and urgency. Many companies in Web3 are startups, and this means that investors are on the backs of CEOs and stakeholders to get things started. This pressure often seeps down to the team and makes it crucial for team members to be aware of speed when building.

The lack of pre-stock assets that focus on Web3 made it very difficult for me to ship products quickly. Even large platforms like Iconscout and Lottify did not have these assets all the time. To be fair, it took me years to build the Blocasset, and this was after realizing that many designers shared in my battle. It made a lot of sense to build Blocasset because we want to solve the problem of not having enough design resources in the Web3 ecosystem. We also want to help creators and designers gain more access to customers and financial value by ensuring that designers are immediately paid in crypto for all assets they create on our platform.

Can you explain the process for designers to make money with Blocasset?

The process of earning on Blocassets is pretty straightforward. One of the challenges we noticed with platforms like Iconscout, despite being excellent products that inspired our journey, was that creators could only access their money after a long period of time. The waiting time varies from 1 week to 12 weeks. We used blockchain technology to ensure that the creators of our platform can access their revenue almost instantly. A designer just needs to connect his wallet to Blocasset, upload his asset and set a price based on MATIC and ethereum. We are also looking at adding stack coins in the future.

How did you manage to secure funding from Polygon?

My experience has allowed me to have the privilege of building networks with a couple of top guys in the Web3 site. I used this network to explain the importance of a product like Blocasset. After working with Polygon on a number of projects, it was easy for us to secure a partnership with them and trust what we build.

What problems have you encountered with building Web3D?

Our biggest challenge so far has been expansion. We are not exactly a money machine, and that makes it difficult for us to make people understand the importance of what we do. Securing finance has been challenging because there is no sure return on investment due to the novelty of what we do. This niche market area also has its advantages because the people of Polygon quickly understood the importance of our current mission.

We have also struggled to acquire a large customer base. Many people still do not understand the importance of our product; our market reach is limited to designers or products that focus on design.

What impact has Blocasset had so far?

The only way for us to get the full use case for Blocasset is through Papaya’s Studio. We started Web3 because of Papaya’s Studio, and when we launch, it will affect how Blocasset will be used.

Papayas Studio is a workstation and a full-fledged design studio where we will showcase African designers and their work. We basically build an Andela or TalentQL for designers, and the reason we do this is to create networking opportunities for designers that are not currently available. We think of it as a Nat Geo Wild for designers. We will show a few things they have done that have changed people’s lives based on the product or content.

When we launch Papaya’s Studio and start offering learning and demonstration opportunities to designers, we hope they will use Blocasset to create assets that will make money for the designers and Web3D.

When are you going to launch Papayas Studio?

We are currently building and our focus has been on achieving something that works for designers. We will definitely launch the studio in the third quarter. Only minor renovations of the studio hold us back. We have a number of design creators that we will showcase as part of our launch. Some of them include the CEO of OrangeVFX and the CEO of Magic Carpet.

What are the steps a designer should take if they want to be shown at Papaya Studio?

The landing page of the site that will be launched with Papayas has a place to take information. Designers can commit to being featured in the studio by filling in their information, such as the products they have created, why they want to be featured and basic information. We want to present senior and middle level designers, for now, and finally run a training program for junior designers who want to work in blockchain.

How will you train these junior designers?

We have an extension in our facility where designers can register to learn either 3D or 2D design or even product design. They will pay a subsidized amount, and after the training we will link them to job opportunities. When they get these jobs, they can now start paying us back. A bit like Lambda School, but we are different in the sense that we are not remote. Design is a bit difficult to teach online. One thing that makes creators stand out is collaboration. Even Figma says that you can not make beautiful things alone.

How much has your business raised so far?

We have raised a total of $ 22,500. When we started, we received a $ 15,000 initial investment and a $ 7,500 grant from Polygon. I have covered the rest of our expenses.

Do you have other financing plans?

We are laser-focused on building products that work right now, and we have pushed the collection to the back of our pile. This is not to say that we are not looking for funds, but we want to be sure of the products we build first.

First and foremost, we are going to make money at Papaya’s Studio by charging a fee for anyone who wants to use the space. There is a demand for the type of services we offer. We will also generate money from the returns on our training program.