OpenGuild has been carving a niche within the Polkadot (DOT) ecosystem, eventually creating a community of builders and developers in Southeast Asia (SEA).
Through their commitment to education and innovation, it is worth noting that they have organized numerous workshops, hackathons, and mentorship programs, all designed to deepen the understanding and application of Polkadot’s technology. Furthermore, their efforts in creating open-source projects and providing platforms for collaboration are pivotal in expanding the network’s capabilities and influence.
Without further delay, we got the chance to interview the co-contributor of OpenGuild, Patricia Arro, during the recent Cebu Blockchain Conference 2025 in Cebu City, Philippines. This groundbreaking event is Cebu City’s first-ever crypto and blockchain conference in partnership with Web3 Cebu and WAV3.
What Is OpenGuild?
OpenGuild is a Web3 builder-driven community centered around the Polkadot ecosystem. Their primary aim is to cater to developers seeking a comprehensive understanding of Polkadot.
“OpenGuild is a community representing Polkadot in Southeast Asia,” Patricia Arro, co-contributor of OpenGuild told UseTheBitcoin during the recent Cebu Blockchain Conference 2025. ”We are doing a lot of workshops, bootcamps, and hackathons around SEA, and I am leading most of the initiatives here in the Philippines,” Arro added.
Key Growth Opportunities In Polkadot SEA
As OpenGuild highlighted, there are several promising growth and development opportunities within the Polkadot ecosystem in Southeast Asia.
First is Polkadot’s Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM for short), which is a significant advancement within the Polkadot ecosystem aimed at enhancing the network’s scalability and interoperability. Particularly, it is designed to push Polkadot towards its original vision of becoming a world computer by improving computation performance.
According to insights from Gavin Wood, JAM could potentially manage “500,000 times the EVM computation performance.” This upgrade could lead to more efficient and scalable blockchain applications, attracting developers and projects interested in high-performance, secure environments.
As such, OpenGuild sees JAM as a catalyst for broader adoption and innovation in the region:
“For Polkadot, we have JAM. Its goal is to enhance the Polkadot protocol’s decentralization and resilience, incentivize JAM implementation, improve JAM network functionality, and strengthen network security. JAM Prize is a grant initiative offering a total prize pool of 10 million DOT and 100,000 KSM.”
Secondly, OpenGuild is heavily invested in creating developer growth within SEA, including the Filipino community. They recognize numerous opportunities for developers due to Polkadot’s modular and interoperable framework, which allows cross-chain applications.
According to Arro, events such as workshops, bootcamps, and hackathons are mainly organized to educate developers on how to build in Polkadot:
“For the Polkadot ecosystem, we have opportunities for them, and we need developers. That’s why we are doing a lot of workshops and hackathons because we want to introduce Polkadot, onboard many Filipinos, and push them to the main stage.”
OpenGuild Collaborates With Local Communities To Host Educational Workshops
Notably, OpenGuild partners with local communities in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, to provide workshops, bootcamps, and hackathons.
These partnerships help organize events tailored to introduce, educate, and upskill participants about the opportunities in Polkadot, ensuring that the content and discussions are relevant to the local context and increase the impact and adoption of blockchain technologies in the region.
“We don’t do it alone; we do a lot of partnerships locally. Let’s say for Luzon, we have Web3 Bulacan. For Cebu, we have Web3 Cebu. And for Davao, we have Davao DeFi Community, Arro highlighted. “With that, we then do a series of initiatives and events to give more knowledge to the developers, especially those starting in Web3.”
How Can Interested Developers Be A Member Of OpenGuild?
Interested developers can become members of OpenGuild by attending workshops, hackathons, and bootcamps officially organized by the latter. These events are excellent opportunities to learn, network, and contribute directly to the community. You can also find more about these events on their official website or through announcements on their social media channels.
Official Social Media Channels
For further information on OpenGuild and to stay updated on their announcements, please visit their website and follow their official social media channels provided below:
👉 Website: https://openguild.wtf/
👉 Twitter/X: https://x.com/openguildwtf
👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@openguildwtf
👉 Discord: https://discord.com/invite/CAHuhcYkPN
👉 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/openguildphilippines
👉 GitHub: https://github.com/openguild-labs
👉 Patricia Arro’s Twitter/X: https://x.com/polka_pat
👉 Patricia Arro’s Telegram: https://t.me/DOTpatt
