A milestone-driven, trustless digital escrow platform built on Stellar/Soroban that delivers a familiar Web2 experience while removing trust problems from Nigerian yearly rentals.
Welcome to the OgaRent root documentation repository! This repository serves as the single source of truth and grand entry point for the entire OgaRent ecosystem. The Minimum Viable Protocol (MVP) is fully functional across both smart contracts and frontend architecture.
OgaRent is a Web2.5 protocol engineered to solve critical trust issues in the Nigerian real estate rental market. We believe that blockchain technology should be an invisible utility, not a user experience hurdle. By bridging the gap between familiar Web2 interfaces and robust Web3 settlement, OgaRent ensures that tenants and landlords can transact securely without ever needing to understand blockchain mechanics.
The Nigerian yearly rental market is plagued by systemic trust issues that leave both tenants and landlords vulnerable. These problems include:
- Multiple-Allocation Scams: Fraudulent agents collecting rent from multiple prospective tenants for the same property.
- Withheld Caution Fees: Landlords unfairly retaining security deposits without transparent justification.
- Trust Imbalance: Tenants are forced to pay a full year's rent upfront to parties they barely know, transferring all risk to the renter.
- Lack of Transparent Escrow: No reliable, neutral third party exists to hold funds until lease conditions are verified.
- Dispute Escalation: Ambiguous terms lead to messy landlord-tenant conflicts with no clear resolution path.
OgaRent focuses purely on solving these real-world trust problems.
While blockchain perfectly solves trustless escrow, traditional Web3 applications frequently fail mainstream users. Normal renters are deterred by:
- Gas Fees: The unpredictability of transaction costs.
- Seed Phrases: The fear of losing a 12-word backup and losing funds.
- Wallet Complexity: Confusing browser extensions and unfamiliar signing requests.
- Onboarding Friction: The daunting process of acquiring cryptocurrency just to use an app.
OgaRent is designed so that blockchain complexity is intentionally hidden. Users interact with a familiar web application, completely unaware that their agreements are backed by smart contracts.
OgaRent abstracts away the blockchain while leveraging its security guarantees, providing:
- Milestone-Driven Escrow: Rent is securely locked and released conditionally, ensuring neither party can run away with the funds prematurely.
- Trustless Settlement: Code enforces the rules of the lease, not human intermediaries.
- Stellar/Soroban Smart Contracts: Lightning-fast, secure, and low-cost execution of escrow conditions.
- Familiar Web2 UX: Users log in with standard credentials and interact with a clean, intuitive Next.js interface.
- Invisible Blockchain Infrastructure: Gas costs, wallets, and crypto-fiat conversions happen behind the scenes.
OgaRent's ecosystem is divided into focused, sibling repositories. This root repository contains the overarching documentation and architecture details.
ogarent(You are here): The core documentation repository. Contains the system architecture, contributor guidelines, and project vision.ogarent-contracts: The Soroban smart contract implementation written in Rust. This handles the on-chain milestone-driven escrow logic.ogarent-app: The Next.js frontend application and backend services. This provides the Web2 user interface and handles relayer interactions.
To achieve a seamless Web2.5 experience, we leverage a tailored technology stack:
- Stellar: The underlying network chosen for its speed, low transaction costs, and mature asset issuance capabilities.
- Soroban: Stellar's Rust-based smart contract platform, where our trustless escrow rules are encoded.
- Relayers: Infrastructure that submits transactions on behalf of users. They act as a "gas sponge," paying fees so users don't have to hold network tokens.
- Passkeys: A modern authentication standard that replaces seed phrases. Users sign transactions using their device's built-in biometrics (FaceID/TouchID).
- Stellar Anchors: Regulated entities that handle fiat-to-crypto conversion seamlessly, allowing users to pay in local currency while settling in stablecoins.
- Soroban Smart Contract (Testnet):
CBK3B2T52RMESFOB7VLPDOZUVHQHDHWZDY2INFSX4PKULDEME46BPPSF
Are you ready to build the future of trustless rentals? Start by familiarizing yourself with our documentation before diving into the code:
- Read the Architecture Guide to understand the technical flow and state machine.
- Review our Security Policy to understand our commitment to user funds and responsible disclosure.
- Read the Contributing Guide to learn how to claim issues, submit PRs, and earn rewards.
We are thrilled to participate in the Stellar Network Drips Wave program! The core MVP is complete, and we are now seeking open-source contributors to help us build out our advanced decentralized features.
Because our frontend and smart contract stacks require different skill sets, we maintain decentralized roadmaps for each module:
- 🦀 Rust/Soroban Developers: Check out the Smart Contract Roadmap to help build decentralized arbitration, escrow factories, and DAOs.
- ⚛️ Next.js/Web3 Developers: Check out the Application Roadmap to help implement SEP-44 Passkeys, Gas Relayers, and Fiat Anchors.
Jump into the community, grab an issue, and help us build!
We envision a future where renting a home in Nigeria is as trustworthy and frictionless as ordering a ride. By replacing risky, upfront payments with programmable, milestone-driven escrow, OgaRent aims to eliminate rental fraud and restore balance between landlords and tenants. Join us in building a more equitable real estate market.