The Problem with Financial Reputation
In traditional finance, creditworthiness is a number. A FICO score. A bank rating. A credit bureau report. These systems work reasonably well in countries with stable institutions and long financial histories — but they systematically exclude the billions of people who are "credit invisible."
Someone who has faithfully contributed to a savings circle for five years, never missing a payment, has demonstrated exactly the discipline a credit system is supposed to measure. But that history exists nowhere a bank can see it. It lives in WhatsApp group chats, in the memory of the circle organizer, in handwritten notebooks.
Njangi House changes that. Every contribution you make on our platform creates a permanent, verifiable, on-chain record. And that record is represented as a dynamic NFT.
How the NFT Badge System Works
Our NjangiNFT contract is an ERC-721 (non-fungible token) that mints a unique badge for every significant on-chain action:
Contribution Badges (TYPE_CONTRIBUTION)
Every time you make an on-time contribution to any Njangi House, a contribution badge is minted to your wallet. These badges are dynamic — their appearance and metadata evolve as your streak grows.
Streak Tiers:
| Streak | Tier | Badge Appearance | |--------|------|-----------------| | 1–2 contributions | Bronze | Warm bronze ring, simple design | | 3–5 contributions | Silver | Silver ring with geometric pattern | | 6–11 contributions | Gold | Gold ring with intricate filigree, glow effect | | 12+ contributions | Diamond | Diamond ring with animated shimmer, full color |
The badge's SVG is generated entirely on-chain. There is no off-chain image hosting. The badge is fully self-contained — the metadata URI returns a Base64-encoded JSON that includes the SVG directly.
Payout Badges (TYPE_PAYOUT)
When you "chop" — receive the pool — a special payout badge is minted. This badge records:
- The house name
- The round number
- The payout amount in USDC
- The date of the payout
Payout badges are proof that you participated in a complete circle and were a recipient.
On-Chain SVG: Why It Matters
Most NFTs store their images on IPFS or a centralized server. When the server goes down or the IPFS pin expires, the image is gone — a phenomenon called "link rot" that has already affected thousands of NFT collections.
Njangi House NFTs store everything on-chain. The SVG artwork is generated by the smart contract in pure Solidity:
function _generateSVG(
uint8 tier,
string memory streakStr,
string memory typeLabel
) internal pure returns (string memory) {
string memory tierColor = tier == 3
? '#b9f2ff' // Diamond
: tier == 2
? '#fbbf24' // Gold
: tier == 1
? '#94a3b8' // Silver
: '#cd9a5c'; // Bronze
return string(abi.encodePacked(
'<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 350 350">',
'<rect width="350" height="350" rx="20" fill="#070d1a"/>',
'<circle cx="175" cy="140" r="80" fill="none" stroke="', tierColor, '" stroke-width="8"/>',
// ... full SVG generation
'</svg>'
));
}
This SVG is then Base64-encoded and embedded directly in the token URI. Your badge will look the same in 10 years, 50 years, or 100 years — as long as the blockchain exists.
The Metadata Structure
Each badge's metadata follows the ERC-721 metadata standard:
{
"name": "Njangi Contribution Badge #247",
"description": "Gold tier — 8 consecutive on-time contributions to Njangi House circles",
"image": "data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz...",
"attributes": [
{ "trait_type": "Type", "value": "Contribution" },
{ "trait_type": "Tier", "value": "Gold" },
{ "trait_type": "Streak", "value": 8 },
{ "trait_type": "House", "value": "Famille Biya Savings" },
{ "trait_type": "Round", "value": 3 }
]
}
This metadata is also fully on-chain, generated by the contract's tokenURI() function.
Building a Credit History
Here's where the vision extends beyond a pretty badge. Every badge in your wallet is a timestamped, verifiable, tamper-proof record of your financial behavior.
What lenders can see:
- How many contribution badges you hold (total activity)
- Your highest tier (Diamond = 12+ consecutive on-time payments)
- Payout badges (you completed full circles, received payouts)
- Timeline (how long you've been participating)
This is a credit profile that:
- Cannot be forged (blockchain immutability)
- Cannot be selectively hidden (public ledger)
- Is portable across platforms (ERC-721 standard)
- Works across borders (no country-specific institution needed)
We're in conversations with DeFi lending protocols about using Njangi NFT tier status as a collateral factor — allowing Diamond-tier holders to borrow at better rates based on their on-chain savings history.
Transferability and Soulbound Design
Currently, Njangi contribution badges are transferable ERC-721 tokens. They can be held in any wallet and viewed on any NFT marketplace.
We are evaluating a Soulbound model for future versions — where contribution badges are permanently bound to the wallet that earned them and cannot be transferred. This would make them even more credible as a financial identity primitive, since they couldn't be purchased or transferred to create a misleading track record.
The decision will be made through $NKAP governance, giving the community a voice in how their credit history is designed.
Viewing Your Badges
Your badges are visible:
- On your Dashboard at
/app/dashboard - On any NFT marketplace that supports Polygon (OpenSea, Rarible, etc.)
- By checking your wallet address directly on Polygon Amoy explorer
If you hold a Gold or Diamond badge, you'll see a special visual indicator on your House member profile — other members can see at a glance that you're a reliable contributor.
The Bigger Picture
The njangi system has always been built on demonstrated trustworthiness. In its traditional form, that trust is held in human memory and social relationships. In Njangi House, it's held in cryptographic certainty on a public blockchain.
Your Diamond badge is your reputation. Your streak is your credit score. And unlike a FICO number controlled by a private company, it belongs to you — held in your wallet, visible to anyone, forever.
Start building your on-chain savings history. Create or join a house today →