How I Contributed to Base, Polygon & Beyond

When people ask how I ended up being recognized by protocols like Wormhole, LayerZero, Base, Polygon, and Hyperliquid, they expect some strategic master plan. The truth? I just kept building and showing up.

Polygon: Where It All Started

My first ecosystem contribution was with Polygon Africa in 2021. I wasn't a core developer — I was a community member who happened to know how to code. I started by answering questions in the Telegram group, helping newcomers set up MetaMask, explaining gas fees.

The team noticed. They asked if I wanted to help organize workshops. I said yes. Then they asked if I wanted to lead the community for West Africa. I said yes again. Within a year, I was managing one of the largest Polygon developer communities on the continent, organizing large-scale events, and earning Certified Smart Contract Developer recognition.

Base: Going Onchain in Africa

When Base launched, I saw the opportunity immediately. Coinbase's L2 had the potential to bring millions of users onchain, and Africa was a massive untapped market. I co-founded Based West Africa to build the ecosystem from the ground up.

We organized hacker houses, brought developers together for the Base Batches hackathon, and built real dApps on Base. The recognition from Base came because we weren't just talking — we were shipping.

Winning Across Ecosystems

Each hackathon I entered taught me something new about a different ecosystem:

• Wormhole— Taught me cross-chain messaging and how to think about multi-chain architecture
• LayerZero— Deepened my understanding of omnichain protocols and interoperability
• Base— Showed me how to build consumer-facing dApps that regular people can use
• Polygon— Where I cut my teeth on gas optimization and Layer 2 scaling
• Hyperliquid— Pushed me into high-performance DeFi and trading infrastructure

Web3Nova: Paying It Forward

Everything I learned from these ecosystems, I pour back into Web3Nova. In 2025 alone, we partnered with Base, Avalanche, SUI, Farcaster, and Lisk to bring workshops and hacker houses to Akure. Over 500+ attendees across 8+ events.

The goal is simple: make blockchain accessible to African developers. Not through hype, but through hands-on building. Show them how to write their first smart contract. Help them submit their first hackathon project. Connect them with ecosystems that value their contributions.

How to Start Contributing

• ·Pick ONE ecosystem and go deep — don't try to be everywhere
• ·Start in the community channels — answer questions, help people
• ·Build something on the chain — even a simple dApp counts
• ·Enter every hackathon they run — this is how protocols discover builders
• ·Document and share your journey — your thread could inspire someone else
• ·Be consistent — ecosystems remember the builders who stick around

You don't need permission to contribute to an ecosystem. Just start building. The recognition follows the work.