Date: Friday, May 15, 2026
Location: Conference Room, Block A Level 4, Makerere University
Registered on Luma: 30
Attended: 25 participants
Languages: English
Circle Steward: Johnson
Overview
Kampala Logos Circle brought together students, developers and Web3 enthusiasts for one of our most energising sessions yet. The focus was our winnable issue. Functional Fees Transparency and moving it forward through research. We explored how the concept could be practically implemented by looking at institutions like Makerere University and Victoria University as reference points. Beyond that, the session pushed us to think bigger: how do we make this solution more versatile? The conversation expanded to include SACCOs, recognising that the problem of paying into collective funds with no visibility on how money is used stretches far beyond school fees and so should our solution.
Key Discussions & Takeaways
The Winnable Issue: Functional Fees Transparency
The room locked in quickly on the core problem, fees paid to schools, universities, SACCOs, and cooperatives disappear into systems with no accountability. Payers have no way to verify where the money goes. We used institutions like Makerere University and Victoria University as real research anchors to test whether a transparency solution could actually work at that scale. The answer was clear: it can, and it’s needed.
Expanding the Scope
What started as a fees problem became a much bigger conversation. The group pushed beyond school and hospital fees to include SACCOs where collective contributions face the same opacity. This shift matters. A solution built only for one context is limited; one that covers how communities pool and manage money together is transformational.
How Logos Makes It Work
Fee payments locked into smart contracts tied to their stated purpose. Funds only release when conditions are met, verified through multi-signature approvals, with every transaction on-chain and open to anyone to audit. No reliance on institutional goodwill, the code enforces the accountability. That clicked immediately with participants.
From Research to Real Impact
Grounding the discussion in local institutions made the technology tangible. Financial inclusion, community governance, and institutional accountability stopped being abstract concepts and became things people recognised from their own lives. That’s the point where Logos becomes a tool, not just an idea.
Building Forward
Participants left with Logos whitepapers, awareness of the upcoming Privacy Bootcamp, and each other’s contacts. The research groundwork is laid the next step is building.
The Winnable Issue: Transparent Functional Fees
Across Uganda and East Africa, families and communities pay school levies, hospital fees, and cooperative contributions in good faith but with no transparent tracking, funds are routinely misallocated or disappear entirely. The people with the least power are the most exposed.
This is not an abstract concern. Everyone in the room had lived it. That’s exactly what makes it winnable.
The Logos Solution
Every payment is recorded on the Logos blockchain and locked in a smart contract tied to its stated purpose. Funds are released only with multi-signature approval. Every transaction is visible in real time. The system doesn’t ask institutions to be more honest, it makes dishonesty structurally impractical.
Why This Is Winnable
Universally Relatable
The problem already resonates, no convincing required. Everyone locally has experienced paying into a system they couldn’t see or question.
Buildable
The core smart contract mechanism is well within reach on the Logos testnet. A motivated team can have a working prototype quickly.
Values-Aligned
Transparency, decentralisation, accountability, this project is only possible because of what Logos uniquely enables. It’s not just a good idea built on blockchain; it’s an idea that only makes sense because of blockchain.
Pilot Study: Expanding to SACCOs
What We Learned
We explored schools as our first pilot partners, where fee mismanagement is well documented. The idea landed well in theory, but government schools move slowly. Bureaucratic layers and procurement processes mean formal adoption of any blockchain tool could take years, not weeks. Several participants with school connections confirmed this directly.
So rather than narrow the scope, we expanded it.
Adding SACCOs to the Mix
Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) face the exact same problem, opaque pooling of savings, unclear loan disbursements, informal communication of returns. Bringing them into the solution makes the concept more versatile and significantly widens its real-world reach.
Applying the smart contract model to SACCOs gives members real-time visibility into contributions, loans, and interest. The ledger becomes a shared, tamper-proof record every member can verify independently the same accountability principle, now covering more of how communities actually manage money together.
Why SACCOs Strengthen the Solution
Faster decision: SACCO leadership answers to members, not ministries. A good proposal can move to agreement in weeks.
Visible trust deficit: Members already worry about how funds are managed, so we’re meeting a problem they’re actively aware of.
Powerful impact story: A member who can open their phone and see exactly where their savings are is a transformation, not just a demo. That story travels.
Built-in replicability: SACCOs operate similarly across Uganda and the continent, so one working pilot becomes a playbook other Logos Circles can adopt.
Next Steps
1. Find a SACCO Partner. Identify one or two SACCOs with engaged membership and some comfort with digital tools. Open a conversation around visibility and member trust.
2. Build the Proof of Concept. Develop a smart contract on the Logos testnet modelling core SACCO flows, contributions, loan disbursements, interest tracking, simple enough for any member to understand in five minutes.
3. Test & Iterate. Present the prototype to the SACCO partner, gather honest feedback, and refine. Member perspective, not developer logic is what matters most here.
4. Report Back to the Circle. Share findings, friction, and early wins at the next meetup. This is a community project.
5. Document & Share. Write up the pilot clearly for the wider Logos network, so any circle can replicate it.
Closing Reflection
No one in that room needed to be convinced the problem was real. That shared understanding, immediate, personal, unanimous, is the foundation a project like this needs. The pivot from schools to SACCOs is not a retreat; it is a refinement. We have found a faster path to a meaningful win with partners already aligned to Logos’ values.
The work ahead is concrete, the team is motivated, and the problem matters. We are ready to build.