Eventually, everything connects - people, ideas, and objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se. - Charles Eames
A CITI; NOT A CITY
The thing to understand about IkoCiti and its core product Peoples' Impact is that – in this theoretical phase – we strive to be as ambitious and comprehensive as we can be, even if it translates into a higher-cost solution initially. What matters most in these first phases is finding a solution that truly eradicates GenPoverty in the areas we operate and for the positive people collaborating with us. Cost optimization becomes a priority only after we've established effective ways to empower people. After that, we'll focus on making these solutions financially sustainable without compromising their effectiveness.
Essentially, IkoCiti brings together all possible solutions that collectively achieve our goals. The challenge lies in organizing these solutions in a way that prevents users from getting lost in countless website pages. Our approach is to structure the platform like a city. Well-managed cities accommodate an incredible diversity of activities, interactions, and transactions while making navigation intuitive for residents and visitors.
IkoCiti is not a City but a Citi with a digital City-like structure.
The architecture of IkoCiti functions as an organizational framework, flowing from expertise centers down to daily operations. IkoCiti consists of ten boroughs (departments), each divided into seven districts (expertise centers), with each district containing four sectors (key areas). The actual work happens in Houses, located on streets within these sectors. This clean structure creates 10×7×4 = 280 sectors hosting unlimited Houses. For example, the Franchise Handbook House serves as the digital office where a small team collaborates online to design and improve the Handbook.
OBJECTIVES & DELIVERABLES
The Handbook represents one of many deliverables tied to IkoCiti's objectives. As the founder, my responsibility is to articulate IkoCiti's context, objectives, and required deliverables. Based on this foundation, a project manager develops an overall project plan requiring appropriate funding. I'm documenting the context and philosophy through LinkedIn articles that will eventually form the book IKOCITI, The Final Revolution of Peoples' Impact. Simultaneously, I'm using NOTION to structure IkoCiti's underlying architecture. These Notion databases and pages will become a public website, as we're committed to BUILDING IN PUBLIC.
Currently, the LinkedIn articles explore various themes without providing casual readers a comprehensive framework to organize these concepts. As we make progress, helping people see the forest through the trees becomes increasingly important. Understanding IkoCiti begins with understanding the purpose and function of its 10 boroughs, which serve as the fundamental departments driving our mission to eradicate generational poverty by empowering local communities.
THE IKOCITI BOROUGHS
PEOPLES' IMPACT BOROUGH
The Peoples' Impact Borough connects technology with community action to address urban GenPoverty (generational poverty). We study social patterns, cultural insights, and economic opportunities to develop effective solutions. Our focus is simple: equip local residents with the right resources to transform their barrios into safer, more stimulating places. By empowering people from the barrios, we enable them to solve their own unique challenges. Our approach creates sustainable progress where traditional interventions often fall short.
TECHNOLOGY BOROUGH
The Technology Borough serves as IkoCiti's digital foundation, creating systems that enable the different groups on the platform to do their job better. We build secure, flexible infrastructure (platform) that coordinates and encourages productive interactions between all the stakeholders. Our tech teams focus on building a platform (CITI) that can be scaled with low marginal costs. Through strategic AI integration and data analytics, we enhance collaboration between Maveriqs, impact buyers, the Pro.Crowd, the ecosystem, and franchise partners—always prioritizing technology that directly empowers people to create sustainable change in their barrios.
SALES BOROUGH
The Sales Borough is the heartbeat of IkoCiti's public presence. We craft the stories that connect IkoCiti with people from all walks of life. Our creative teams build a strong brand, launch informative campaigns, and bring in quality leads that fuel our growth. We make digital channels work harder, create content that resonates, and form partnerships that amplify our reach. By analyzing market trends and listening to our Mavericks c.s., we fine-tune our approach based on real-world data, ensuring our message stays clear and consistent.
BARRIO BOROUGH
The Barrio Borough coordinates on-the-ground activities in barrios, working directly with residents and local organizations to drive community-led change. Our MM360 strategy provides a comprehensive framework for neighborhood revitalization, addressing everything from infrastructure to social services. We support local action - organized by our Maveriqs - through the PI Movement and focus on breaking barriers to opportunity by tackling education gaps, debt, addiction, and digital divide issues. The BARRIO team transforms IkoCiti's vision into practical action, empowering local people to rebuild their barrios from within.
PEOPLE BOROUGH
The People Borough serves as IkoCiti's social hub, connecting our diverse platform groups. We create spaces where Maveriqs, buyers, Pro.Crowd helpers, stakeholders, and entrepreneurs can exchange ideas freely. Facilitating meaningful interactions between these groups leads to a higher quality impact on the ground. The driving force of the IkoCiti Platform is people from all walks of life collaborating to achieve self-perpetuating progress in the barrios. Maveriqs recruit and teach new Maveriqs how to produce Peoples’ Impact without additional help from professionals.
EDUCATION BOROUGH
The Education Borough transforms barrio residents into capable changemakers through hands-on training. We equip people with practical skills to analyze barrio needs and develop effective solutions. Our learn-by-doing approach builds both foundational and specialized capabilities, enabling participants to become peer-to-peer teachers who recruit and train the rookies. We integrate platform training to ensure all IkoCiti teams collaborate seamlessly. By creating a self-sustaining cycle where changemakers teach new changemakers, we're building a growing pool of skilled problem-solvers. In IkoCiti, smarter people create lasting progress - the key to fighting GenPoverty.
OPERATIONS BOROUGH
The Operations Borough is the production center of IkoCiti, turning ideas into tangible Peoples' Impact. We support Maveriqs in their barrio rebuilding efforts through comprehensive project guidance—from ideation and team formation to funding, implementation, and maintenance. We facilitate valuable partnerships with entrepreneurs, connect projects to buyers through our marketplace, streamline procurement of materials, and provide recovery (Turnaround) services when needed. Our mission is to make the journey from concept to completed impact as smooth and successful as possible.
FRANCHISE BOROUGH
The Franchise Borough: Our Local-Global Connection. We connect the global IkoCiti platform with numerous CITIs (satellite platforms), each operated by local leadership teams. Our decentralized approach gives the CITIs significant autonomy while providing essential support through training, technology access, and ongoing guidance. We build a collaborative network where CITIs share successful practices and contribute to our collective mission. By balancing local independence with global resources, we're creating a worldwide ecosystem of connected CITIs that amplify our impact and reach.
R&D BOROUGH
The R&D Borough is our innovation engine, focusing on discovering better solutions for operating the platform. While Technology and Operations handle daily platform functioning, we look ahead—making everything better, cheaper, and more efficient. We test new ideas that enhance the platform and improve the barrio-rebuilding toolkit. Our work combines human, artificial, and collective intelligence to maximize impact. We're constantly experimenting, learning, and adapting to ensure IkoCiti evolves effectively to fulfill its mission of the eradication of GenPoverty.
LEADERSHIP BOROUGH
The Leadership Borough guides our organization's direction through strategic oversight and management. We embrace radical (99.3%) transparency and accountability while supporting decentralized decision-making at all levels through clear governance frameworks. Our structure empowers Mavericks to challenge leadership decisions, fostering collective commitment. We maintain open communication channels throughout the organization and with stakeholders. Our primary challenges include aligning platform development with cost management while nurturing talent through leadership development and mentorship opportunities.