It's time to pay back to our communities. Tracee promotes financial inclusion in MENA and empowers humanitarian organizations and businesses through innovative and user-friendly cross-border payment solutions.

Tracee fulfills the day-to-day needs of organizations and individuals in a region with high potential, but lacking serious and efficient payment solutions (34% of 500 million owns credit/debit cards).

How ?

Smart wallet

To create a seamless UI/UX, Tracee removes the need for private keys and seed phrases while still enabling users to maintain custody of their funds. With just a phone number, millions of users can access a digital wallet. To achieve this, we use SEP30, a user-friendly key management protocol (link here)

Bulk payments & Stellar Aid Assist (SAA)

• Aid delivery and bulk payments can be costly and very slow for NGOs, especially during emergencies.
• Last-mile cash-aid delivery poses safety risks for transporters and collectors and is susceptible to fraud.
• NGO operators and recipients often lack knowledge of operating in the web3 space.

Solution

• We provide a user-friendly interface to easily on-board thousands of NGOs and millions of recipients (individuals in need & employees).
• We scale SAA to allow orgs send bulk payments and recipients to withdraw cash @ any MoneyGram location.

Payment streams using Soroban
Tracee simplifies the process of recurrent bulk payments and payrolls for NGOs by deploying Soroban to automate the process. This involves setting payment conditions, such as multi-sig and recurrence intervals, then the payment is executed by smart contracts in accordance with the conditions. Check out in product viz the detailed sequence diagrams.

Smart contract escrow-service using Soroban

Tracee uses Soroban as an escrow service to hold funds for service payments. The sender fills the provider & the service details as well as payment terms, which are confirmed by the provider. Smart contracts hold the funds and releases them based on the agreed terms. See the sequence of events in product viz.

On-ramp / Off-ramp solutions :

SEP06 is used for deposit and withdrawal API/SDK, without leaving the app. Tempo is considered for credit cards and SEPA transfers.

SEP24 is employed for hosted deposit & withdrawal with MoneyGram.

Stellar network: We use Horizon SDK to connect with Stellar network as well as several SEPs:

• SEP-10 for authentication of users
• SEP-12 for communicating user KYC information
• SEP-30 for private key management
• SEP-31 for processing cross-border payments

UI/UX: Click here to test the prototype

KYB: Partnering with tier-solution provider, mainly Sumsub

KYC: It is made through via off-ramp partner

The project architecture is illustrated below & describing the communication between the front-end, the back-end, Stellar & anchors. The use-cases of Soroban are considered upon the release it on the main net, more info about its implementation is in the "product viz below" and in "Additional info".

For our first submission, the reviewer expressed a desire for Tracee to succeed but couldn't find a clear application of Soroban. They noted the founder's personal motivation and acknowledged the challenges of operating in Lebanon but believed it could have a significant impact. The reviewer recommended that Tracee submit to the SCF Startup Camp for support in building its use case.

As of writing this application, Tracee participated in the SCF Startup Camp and was one of the Top 10 finalists (The prizes were not announced yet).

Previously, Tracee's main focus was on using Soroban to ensure traceability of donations by providing last-mile tracking. However, since the last time we submitted our application, we have taken the following steps:

• Developed a Proof of Concept (POC) and presented it to numerous NGOs, including UNHCR.
• The solution received positive feedback, but its implementation within current NGO systems presented significant challenges and compromised its potential success.

Following the unsuccessful validation of the POC and further discussions with NGO representatives, Stellar teams, and participation in the SCF Startup Camp, Tracee began to pivot its approach.

Currently, Tracee's sole focus is on using the Stellar network to facilitate cross-border payments for NGOs and SMBs within and towards the MENA region. This includes automating the process of aid deliver through the use of Soroban, as well as implementing smart-contract escrow-service payments.

Additionally, we have surrounded ourselves with legal and regulatory advisors in both Europe and MENA to ensure that the proposed solution complies with all regulations and legal frameworks.

If just ONE subsidiary of an NGO (UNHCR) and ONE population (UKRAINE) made Stellar Aid Assist so successful and award-winning; just envision the monumental impact of scaling up to thousands of NGOs and innumerable populations. Our united efforts will forge a future filled with hope, collaboration, and lasting change.

Our story with Stellar

In late 2022, while driving through Beirut, I received a WhatsApp message (though remember, never text and drive) from my friend, R.S. The message contained a link to a story about how Stellar had streamlined aid delivery from UNHCR to Ukrainians, enabling them to access crucial support. Instantly, I replied, "This is exactly what we need; I'm on it."

Tracee had already launched traceability services on Polygon, but a transformative moment was just around the corner. A month later, I flew to the U.S. and met with SDF teams. I was immediately struck by their passion, their commitment to transforming the world, and the innovative and serious community backing them. They spoke our language and shared our values. As Denelle Dixon, CEO of SDF, said: "When blockchain meets real-world use, it can truly change the world for the better." Inspired by the potential of blockchain and driven by a desire to make a difference, Denelle articulated our vision.

With financial inclusion as our ultimate objective and helping our people reclaim their dignity as our daily mission, we set out to create a better world—one where no one is left behind. And so, the journey began.

Target Market

• Our initial target clients are located in Europe, particularly in France, Belgium, and Switzerland, where a high concentration of humanitarian organizations reside.
• MENA holds the primary recipient of aid, payments, and remittances.
• The financial flow between these two regions amounts to over $60 billion annually. Regrettably, as the MENA region has long been plagued by un-ending conflicts and crises, this market is only expected to grow.
• About MENA:
• Population: 500 million
• Individuals who have access to an account in a financial institution: 47%
• Individuals who own a credit or debit card: 38% and who used it 24%.
  

Marketing Strategy

1. Exceptional product: OpenAI spent $0 on marketing, yet ChatGPT reached 5 million users in just a week. Our primary strategy is to invest in a seamless, easy-to-use product.
2. Leverage network: We've already begun to tap into our key connections with potential clients in the humanitarian sector, including some UN agencies and international French NGOs.
3. Direct sales: We'll avoid impersonal cold emails and messages that clutter LinkedIn and inboxes. Instead, we'll adopt a more personalized, human-centered approach, treating our clients as the real focus, not just numbers.
4. Branding: Successfully reaching the MENA region and making Tracee accessible requires a robust branding strategy, a strong online presence, and collaboration with influencers and key figures. Fortunately, we excel at doing just that 😉.

Partnerships & collaboration

Sumsub: world leader in KYC/KYB & AML

Tempo: on-ramp/off-ramp anchor in EU (a Stellar partner)

Anchain.ai : on-chain fraud detection (a Stellar partner)

MoneyGram : hosted on-ramp/off-ramp (a Stellar partner)

Impact & Benefits of the Project:

• For Stellar:

The project involves the establishment of a payment corridor between EU and MENA. Millions of transactions on the Stellar network & Soroban will be processed. This development will significantly enhance the usability, adoption, and notoriety of Stellar as a pioneer in payment solutions. Initiating this project in these regions will be like a “ripple” effect, that will extend beyond them, and it’s on Stellar 😉.

For Organizations:

• Intuitive and efficient solutions for cross-border payments.
• Instant and cost-effective transactions
• Transparency on blockchain to combat fraud.
• Mitigation of safety risks with cashless disbursements.

For MENA Population:

• Easy access to funds from multiple organizations.
• Secure storage and withdrawal of money as needed.
• Particularly beneficial for those facing economic crises in the region.

Smart contracts on Soroban

• Write a Rust contract defining the rules and methods needed (recurrence, payments scheduling,...).
• Deploy the contract in the network.
• Invoke the contract's functions through a Stellar transaction or an integration SDK.
• Each Stellar token can have its own contract in Soroban.
• The default token contract has a function allowing other wallets or contracts to use a portion of its balance.
• The NGO needs to call this method from the token contract to authorize the use of the balance for making payments.
• The contract's logic will involve saving recipient information and implementing a payment method.
• The payment method will be triggered to make payments when invoked.
• Each method of the contract may or may not require a signature based on the predefined rules.

POI first deliverable

1. A comprehensive system architecture document outlining the design, key components, technology stack, and interaction with the Stellar network

2. Wireframes and mockups for high fidelity UI/UX for mobile and web + a complete interactive wireframe on mobile & web.

3. A Github repository that will gather all necessary codes, API keys, and explanatory documents and references.

To ensure a successful delivery, we have followed the following steps:

1. Addressing Reviewer Feedback: We carefully reviewed and addressed the valuable feedback provided by the SCF#15 reviewer. We have included detailed information about our business concept, target market, and roadmap for achieving Product-Market Fit (PMF) in different areas. These updates can be found in the first part of the "Business & System Architecture Document."
2. System Architecture: We have defined the system design, presented the key components, and made decisions regarding the technology stack. We have also developed user flows and user journeys within the Tracee app. Furthermore, we have provided technical details about integrating SDP, SEPs, and Soroban, including sequence diagrams and illustrative examples.
3. User-Friendly Design: In response to the reviewer's feedback about the importance of simplicity for aid organizations and businesses, we have created a highly user-friendly web-interface design specifically tailored for them. Additionally, we have completed the UI/UX for mobile in both English and Arabic languages. We created dynamic prototypes using Figma to showcase two use cases: bulk payments and P2P remittances service. These prototypes offer a user-friendly and interactive demonstration of Tracee's functionality.
4. GitHub Links and API Keys: We have gathered all relevant links to GitHub repositories, particularly those related to SEPs and Horizon. Additionally, we have collected API keys from our partners, such as MoonPay, to facilitate the development process.
5. Bonus Delivery: As an added bonus, we have developed two use cases that our system is expected to deliver: bulk payment and escrow service. The codes for these features have been written in Rust and were tested on the Futurenet. Although not initially planned, our efficient team was able to deliver this one more delivery, demonstrating our commitment to pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations.

By successfully completing these steps, we are confident in delivering our first milestone and moving forward with the development of Tracee.

How can a reviewer check you completed your first deliverable?

We have assembled all the critical links for navigating this project's delivery into a single Linktree. This serves as a straightforward visual guide for reviewers. Nevertheless, reviewers will also find comprehensive referral links and explanations in the final section "References" of the document "Business & System architecture" in a Google Drive link.

Link: https://linktr.ee/traceeapp

Google drive document link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-11BnjHEUuY7pJr018f9PPXpXz01hr5Z/view?usp=drive_link

For reviewers, please submit a request or please share a general request at bassel@traceeapp.com (or here) so we share an access to all confidential docs.

P.S. The GitHub repository referenced is currently private, which may result in a 404 error if the reviewer tries to access it. We will gladly grant access upon receiving a request.

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• traceeapp.com‍
• https://bit.ly/3mVU93l