Expanding into Balkans Region
NEAR
Expanding into Balkans Region
NEAR
RZLT collaborated directly with the NEAR Balkans Team from 2021 to 2022 to support NEAR Protocol’s expansion into the Balkans. NEAR Protocol, a carbon-neutral L1 blockchain, offers a scalable and secure decentralized development environment. Our mission was to build a thriving regional ecosystem by educating, empowering, and engaging local entrepreneurs and developers.
RZLT collaborated directly with the NEAR Balkans Team from 2021 to 2022 to support NEAR Protocol’s expansion into the Balkans. NEAR Protocol, a carbon-neutral L1 blockchain, offers a scalable and secure decentralized development environment. Our mission was to build a thriving regional ecosystem by educating, empowering, and engaging local entrepreneurs and developers.
Challenge
To achieve this, we crafted a comprehensive go-to-market strategy for launching a NEAR Balkans Cluster across Southeast Europe. Our aim was to establish a robust educational infrastructure that would encourage entrepreneurs to build their products on NEAR. We defined a series of activities—including commercial showcase products (Product Lab), an incubator, grants, meetups, conferences, and educational certifications in local languages—to foster a vibrant blockchain community. Our primary target was the Balkan Region, spanning Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We engaged local early-stage incubators and accelerators to position the Hub as the primary contact for blockchain initiatives in the region. Additionally, we established partnerships with technical universities, both public and private, to create a NEAR-powered blockchain curriculum and initiate educational programs, hackathons, ambassadorships, and case studies aimed at nurturing a “NEAR-grown” generation of developers.
Challenge
To achieve this, we crafted a comprehensive go-to-market strategy for launching a NEAR Balkans Cluster across Southeast Europe. Our aim was to establish a robust educational infrastructure that would encourage entrepreneurs to build their products on NEAR. We defined a series of activities—including commercial showcase products (Product Lab), an incubator, grants, meetups, conferences, and educational certifications in local languages—to foster a vibrant blockchain community. Our primary target was the Balkan Region, spanning Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We engaged local early-stage incubators and accelerators to position the Hub as the primary contact for blockchain initiatives in the region. Additionally, we established partnerships with technical universities, both public and private, to create a NEAR-powered blockchain curriculum and initiate educational programs, hackathons, ambassadorships, and case studies aimed at nurturing a “NEAR-grown” generation of developers.
Results
The impact of our collaboration was significant. We increased the number of weekly active wallets in the market by 30% and established a local language academy with certification. Our NEAR Balkans Summership program, which lasted four months and involved seven interns, further bolstered the regional talent pool.
The NEARby events attracted over 3,000 attendees, and our initiatives culminated in the creation and incubation of two full-fledged products—Tekuno and Pathfinder. This comprehensive strategy not only accelerated NEAR Protocol’s adoption in the Balkans but also laid a strong foundation for the region’s blockchain community.
Results
The impact of our collaboration was significant. We increased the number of weekly active wallets in the market by 30% and established a local language academy with certification. Our NEAR Balkans Summership program, which lasted four months and involved seven interns, further bolstered the regional talent pool.
The NEARby events attracted over 3,000 attendees, and our initiatives culminated in the creation and incubation of two full-fledged products—Tekuno and Pathfinder. This comprehensive strategy not only accelerated NEAR Protocol’s adoption in the Balkans but also laid a strong foundation for the region’s blockchain community.
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