Application for Optimism Season 9 - Growth Grants

Esusu

@emiridbest

50000

0xb82896C4F251ed65186b416dbDb6f6192DFAF926

Esusu Africa is a decentralized savings and group thrift protocol built on Celo, inspired by the traditional African "Esusu/Ajo" rotating credit model. We serve 4,000+ users across three products: Simple Saver (individual lockup savings), Thrift (group rotating savings pools), and utility bill payments. Our smart contracts passed a formal security audit in January 2026. Our incentive program encourages users to deposit USDC and USDT into Esusu's Simple Saver and Thrift contracts on Celo. These deposits are routed into Aave v3, where they earn native Aave interest and community rewards. OP tokens are distributed directly to participating users biweekly as additional incentive for their active contributions. As deposits grow, our onchain TVL figures become a visible, credible signal of real protocol activity - making Esusu increasingly attractive to other ecosystems and new users who discover the protocol organically.

Our program targets growing USDC and USDT supply depth on Aave v3 on Celo by routing Esusu user deposits into Aave supply positions. 1. USDC 2. USDT 3. USDm

Both USDC and USDT are available on Aave v3 on Celo as supply assets and borrow assets. User deposits made through Esusu's Simple Saver and Thrift contracts are routed into Aave v3 supply positions, directly increasing lendable stablecoin depth and supporting collateral-borrow activity on the protocol. There are no other protocols involved in this program.

TVL in the past 30 days = ~$90

**Who receives incentives: Users** who actively deposit USDC or USDT into Esusu's Simple Saver and Thrift contracts on Celo, with funds routed to Aave v3. **Structure:** - Users deposit USDC, USDT or USDm through Esusu's Simple Saver or Thrift products. Funds are routed to Aave v3 supply positions on Celo. - Users earn Aave's native supply interest and any applicable Aave community rewards on their deposits. - OP tokens are distributed directly to depositing users biweekly, proportional to deposit size and duration - on top of Aave yield. - Minimum deposit: $1 USDC/USDT, keeping participation accessible to more users - Program duration: 6 months. **Growth and credibility flywheel**: Every deposit made by a user grows Esusu's reported onchain TVL on Aave. As these figures accumulate, they serve as publicly verifiable proof of real protocol activity - attracting attention from other ecosystems, partners, and new users who discover Esusu organically. Users already within our community spread the word as they see their savings earning both Aave interest and OP rewards, bringing in new depositors without additional acquisition cost. More users depositing means higher TVL, stronger credibility, and broader organic reach - a self-reinforcing cycle this grant is designed to kickstart. **Anti-mercenary design:** - OP rewards are tied to a minimum 14-day deposit duration, preventing short-term capital cycling. - Rewards are calculated on time-weighted average deposit balance, not one-time deposit events - users who withdraw early receive zero or reduced OP rewards. - Our user base consists of first-time DeFi participants who are already accustomed to long-duration savings cycles (traditional Esusu cycles run 30-180 days), making sustained deposits natural rather than forced. - Users are acquired through bill-payment and community savings habits, not yield farming - retention is driven by product utility and community trust, not incentive extraction.

Esusu Africa is one of very few Superchain projects with genuine emerging-market retail distribution. Our 4,000+ Celo users are not DeFi-native - they use Esusu to pay bills and save communally with friends. This grant funds the Aave integration and user incentive layer that converts their existing savings behaviour into real onchain TVL. Users deposit USDC, USDT and USDm, earn Aave interest plus community rewards, and receive OP directly as participation incentives - while every deposit builds the visible, credible onchain footprint that attracts other ecosystems and organic new users to Esusu. We are not recycling existing DeFi capital; every dollar deposited originates from users who were already saving with Esusu for non-DeFi reasons. We commit to transparent bi-weekly Karma reporting throughout the program. No grants-as-a-service arrangements exist.

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