Open Grant Proposal: AuthDocChain — Decentralized Document Verification via IPFS/Filecoin

Project Name: AuthDocChain

Proposal Category: Integrations

Individual or Entity Name: Entity — AuthDocChain

Proposer: AuthDocChain

Project Repo(s):

• Public repo: https://github.com/AuthDocChain/authdocchain


• Private repo: (available upon request for reviewers)

(Optional) Filecoin ecosystem affiliations: None at this time.

(Optional) Technical Sponsor: N/A

Do you agree to open source all work you do on behalf of this RFP under the MIT/Apache-2 dual-license?: Yes — specifically, the IPFS/Filecoin integration module developed under this grant will be fully open-sourced under MIT/Apache-2 dual license. This includes document storage, CID anchoring, retrieval, and verification components.

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Project Summary

AuthDocChain is a blockchain-based platform for the issuance, storage, and verification of official documents — including academic diplomas, government certificates, civil records, identity documents, and HR credentials. The platform anchors document authenticity proofs on the Polygon blockchain while leveraging IPFS and Filecoin for decentralized, tamper-proof, and permanent document storage.

The global problem of document fraud is severe and growing. According to UNESCO and various government bodies, fake diplomas, forged identity documents, and falsified official records cost institutions and employers billions of dollars annually — and disproportionately affect emerging markets where verification infrastructure is weak or absent. Traditional verification systems rely on centralized databases that are expensive to maintain, prone to corruption, and inaccessible across borders.

AuthDocChain addresses this by combining Polygon smart contracts for on-chain proof anchoring with IPFS/Filecoin for decentralized document storage, creating an immutable, globally accessible, and institution-agnostic verification layer. Our target clients are universities and schools, government agencies, and enterprise HR departments operating at international scale.

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Impact

Pain points addressed:

• Document fraud is rampant across sectors — academic, governmental, and corporate — causing economic damage and undermining trust in institutions.


• Existing verification systems are siloed, centralized, and often inaccessible to institutions in emerging markets.


• Verifying a document across borders currently requires costly intermediaries (notaries, apostilles, embassies) and takes days or weeks.

Benefits of getting this right:

AuthDocChain eliminates the need for centralized verification authorities by anchoring document authenticity on public, immutable infrastructure. Any institution or individual worldwide can verify a document in seconds, at near-zero cost, without contacting the issuing body. This dramatically reduces fraud, speeds up institutional processes, and builds trust across borders.

Risks of not getting this right:

Without decentralized storage, document verification systems remain vulnerable to server failures, censorship, and data loss. Using IPFS/Filecoin ensures that documents remain accessible and verifiable even if the issuing institution's servers go offline — a critical resilience feature for long-term credential verification.

Impact on the Filecoin/IPFS ecosystem:

AuthDocChain will onboard significant real-world document data to IPFS/Filecoin from institutional clients — universities, government agencies, and corporations across multiple countries. This directly advances the mission of Filecoin as a decentralized storage layer for humanity's most important data. Success means thousands of institutions using IPFS as their default document storage backbone.

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Outcomes

Deliverables under this grant:

1. 
   

   Open-source IPFS/Filecoin Integration Module — A fully documented, MIT/Apache-2 licensed library for:

   
   
   
   
   • Uploading documents to IPFS via web3.storage or Lighthouse.storage
   
   
   • Anchoring CIDs on Polygon smart contracts
   
   
   • Retrieving and verifying document integrity via CID comparison
   
   
   • Handling document expiry and revocation on-chain
   
   
   
   


2. 
   

   Verification API — A REST API that institutions can integrate into their existing systems to verify document authenticity against the Filecoin/IPFS storage layer.

   
   


3. 
   

   Pilot Integration — At least 2 institutional pilot partners (university or government agency) actively issuing and verifying documents through the platform.

   
   


4. 
   

   Technical Documentation — Full developer docs, integration guides, and deployment instructions published publicly.

   
   

Success metrics:

• ≥ 500 documents stored on IPFS/Filecoin by end of Month 6


• ≥ 2 institutional pilots active


• Open-source module with ≥ 50 GitHub stars and documented external integrations


• Average verification time < 3 seconds per document

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Data Onboarding

Projected data onboarded to the Filecoin network:

• Month 1: ~5 GB (internal testing + first pilot onboarding)


• Month 3: ~50 GB (2 institutional pilots active, backlog of existing documents)


• Month 6: ~200 GB (expanded pilots, 3–5 institutions onboarded)


• Month 12: ~1 TB (scale-up with 10+ institutions across 3+ countries)

Documents include diplomas, certificates, civil records, HR credentials, and government-issued documents — averaging 1–5 MB per document in their original format, stored with metadata.

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Adoption, Reach, and Growth Strategies

Target audience:

1. Universities & Schools — Need to issue tamper-proof digital diplomas verifiable by employers worldwide. Market: 25,000+ universities globally, with strong demand in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.


2. Government Agencies — Need to issue civil records (birth certificates, marriage certificates) in a verifiable, portable digital format. Market: ministries of education, justice, and interior across 190+ countries.


3. Enterprises / HR Departments — Need to verify employee credentials quickly and reliably without contacting issuing institutions. Market: any company with global hiring operations.

Current engagement:

AuthDocChain has a working MVP/prototype deployed on Polygon. We are actively in discussions with institutional contacts in Cameroon and the broader francophone African region, with plans to expand internationally.

Onboarding strategy:

• First 10 users: Direct outreach to university registrar offices and HR directors in our immediate network, offering free onboarding and white-glove support.


• First 100 users: Partnership with 2–3 anchor institutions that publicly endorse the platform, triggering peer referrals across their networks.


• Scale: API integrations with existing student information systems (SIS) and HR platforms used by target institutions.

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Development Roadmap

Milestone 1 — IPFS/Filecoin Integration Module (Month 1–2)

Deliverables:

• Document upload to IPFS via web3.storage / Lighthouse


• CID anchoring on Polygon smart contract


• Basic retrieval and integrity verification


• Open-source repository published under MIT/Apache-2

Team: 2 developers (blockchain + backend)
Duration: 6 weeks
Funding: $15,000

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Milestone 2 — Verification API & Dashboard (Month 2–3)

Deliverables:

• REST API for document verification (public endpoint)


• Institutional dashboard for document issuance and management


• Document revocation mechanism (on-chain)


• Integration documentation v1

Team: 2 developers + 1 product designer
Duration: 5 weeks
Funding: $20,000

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Milestone 3 — Pilot Integrations & Data Onboarding (Month 3–5)

Deliverables:

• 2 institutional pilots live (university + government or enterprise)


• ≥ 500 real documents stored on IPFS/Filecoin


• User feedback incorporated, API v2 released


• Public case study published

Team: 2 developers + 1 partnerships lead
Duration: 8 weeks
Funding: $20,000

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Milestone 4 — Documentation, Audit & Scale Preparation (Month 5–6)

Deliverables:

• Full developer documentation published


• Security review of the open-source integration module


• Onboarding guide for new institutions


• Roadmap for 10+ institutions by Month 12

Team: 1 developer + 1 technical writer
Duration: 4 weeks
Funding: $10,000

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Total Budget Requested

Milestone # | Description | Deliverables | Completion Date | Funding
-- | -- | -- | -- | --
1 | IPFS/Filecoin Integration Module | Open-source library, CID anchoring | Month 2 | $15,000
2 | Verification API & Dashboard | REST API, institutional dashboard | Month 3 | $20,000
3 | Pilot Integrations & Data Onboarding | 2 pilots live, 500+ docs on Filecoin | Month 5 | $20,000
4 | Documentation, Audit & Scale Prep | Full docs, security review | Month 6 | $10,000
Total |   |   |   | $65,000

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Maintenance and Upgrade Plans

The open-source IPFS/Filecoin integration module will be maintained as a standalone public library, with issues tracked on GitHub and community contributions welcome. AuthDocChain commits to:

• Quarterly updates to maintain compatibility with IPFS/Filecoin protocol upgrades


• A public changelog and versioned releases


• Community support via GitHub Issues and Discord


• Long-term sustainability funded through AuthDocChain's commercial operations (SaaS fees from institutional clients)

The commercial AuthDocChain platform will continue to evolve independently, with the open-source module serving as its public-goods foundation.

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Team

Team Members

• Salomon Kamsu — Founder & Lead Developer (replace with full name)


• Team is in pending build

Team Member LinkedIn Profiles

• www.linkedin.com/in/salomon-kamsu

Team Website

• https://authdocchain.com

Relevant Experience

The AuthDocChain team has hands-on experience building on Polygon and integrating decentralized storage solutions. We have developed and deployed smart contracts for document anchoring, built institutional-grade APIs, and engaged with government and university partners in the francophone African market. Our work sits at the intersection of blockchain infrastructure and real-world institutional adoption — a space where we have identified a clear, urgent need and are positioned to deliver.

Team Code Repositories

• Public GitHub: https://github.com/AuthDocChain/authdocchain


• Additional repos available upon request

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Additional Information

How we learned about the Open Grants Program: Through research into Filecoin ecosystem funding opportunities and community resources.

Best contact email: contact@authdocchain.com

Additional context: AuthDocChain was developed in response to a concrete problem observed in emerging markets — the high cost and low reliability of traditional document verification. By building on IPFS/Filecoin, we are not just solving a local problem: we are contributing to a global, open infrastructure for trusted document storage. We believe this project demonstrates exactly the kind of real-world Filecoin adoption the Open Grants Program aims to support.