DEVELOPMENT OF A SECURE CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM FOR EFFECTIVE SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEM

This research project addresses the critical challenges of transparency, accountability, and financial inclusion inherent in traditional and digital social welfare systems. Existing crowdfunding platforms, while popular, often operate opaquely, involve high intermediation costs, and are susceptible to fraud and mismanagement, thereby eroding donor trust and limiting their effectiveness, particularly in developing economies like Nigeria. To bridge this gap, this project designed, developed, and implemented a secure, decentralized crowdfunding platform that leverages blockchain technology and the cNGN stablecoin. The platform establishes a direct, peer-to-peer conduit between donors and recipients, eliminating centralized intermediaries. Its core innovation lies in the integration of the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) for its low transaction costs and the cNGN—a Nigerian Naira-pegged stablecoin—to eliminate the price volatility associated with conventional cryptocurrencies and ensure regulatory compliance. The system was built using a modern, cloud-based technology stack: a React.js frontend for a generational-independent user interface, a NestJS (Node.js) backend for business logic and API orchestration, and MongoDB for data persistence. The platform automates the entire donation lifecycle: it generates a unique blockchain wallet for each campaign, monitors the BSC network in real-time for incoming transactions, and provides an immutable, publicly verifiable audit trail for all contributions, thereby guaranteeing unprecedented transparency and security. The implementation demonstrates that a blockchain-based model can successfully mitigate the identified weaknesses of traditional systems. The platform ensures that a greater proportion of donations reach intended beneficiaries by significantly reducing fees, provides near- instantaneous transaction finality, and operates on a foundation of technological trust rather than institutional promise. This project concludes that the fusion of blockchain transparency, the stability of a national stablecoin, and a user-centric design presents a viable, disruptive framework for enhancing the operationalization, accessibility, and integrity of social welfare services, offering a scalable blueprint for fostering financial inclusion and community-driven support in Nigeria and similar contexts.