diff --git a/dongle-smartcontract/src/errors.rs b/dongle-smartcontract/src/errors.rs
index e69de29..06c01c4 100644
--- a/dongle-smartcontract/src/errors.rs
+++ b/dongle-smartcontract/src/errors.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum Error {
+    InvalidProjectName,
+    InvalidProjectNameFormat,
+    ProjectNameTooLong,
+}
diff --git a/dongle-smartcontract/src/project_registry.rs b/dongle-smartcontract/src/project_registry.rs
index 4e855fc..b868efa 100644
--- a/dongle-smartcontract/src/project_registry.rs
+++ b/dongle-smartcontract/src/project_registry.rs
@@ -1,17 +1,50 @@
+extern crate alloc;
+use alloc::string::ToString;
 use crate::types::Project;
-use soroban_sdk::{Env, Address, Map};
+use soroban_sdk::{Env, Address, Map, String};
+use crate::errors::Error;
 
 pub struct ProjectRegistry;
 
+pub const MAX_NAME_LEN: usize = 50;
+
 impl ProjectRegistry {
-    pub fn register_project(env: &Env, owner: Address, name: String, description: String, category: String, website: Option<String>, logo_cid: Option<String>, metadata_cid: Option<String>) -> u64 {
+    pub fn register_project(
+        env: &Env, 
+        owner: Address, 
+        name: String, 
+        description: String, 
+        category: String, 
+        website: Option<String>, 
+        logo_cid: Option<String>, 
+        metadata_cid: Option<String>
+    ) -> Result<u64, Error> {
+        let name_str = name.to_string();
+        
+        // 1. Validate Non-empty and not only whitespace
+        if name_str.trim().is_empty() {
+            return Err(Error::InvalidProjectName);
+        }
+        
+        // 2. Validate max length
+        if name_str.len() > MAX_NAME_LEN {
+            return Err(Error::ProjectNameTooLong);
+        }
+        
+        // 3. Validate alphanumeric, underscore, hyphen
+        for c in name_str.chars() {
+            if !c.is_ascii_alphanumeric() && c != '_' && c != '-' {
+                return Err(Error::InvalidProjectNameFormat);
+            }
+        }
+
         // Generate unique project ID
         // Save project in Map<u64, Project>
         // Emit ProjectRegistered event
-        0
+        Ok(0)
     }
 
-    pub fn update_project(env: &Env, project_id: u64, caller: Address, ...) {
+    pub fn update_project(env: &Env, project_id: u64, caller: Address) {
         // Validate ownership
         // Update project metadata
     }
@@ -20,3 +53,67 @@ impl ProjectRegistry {
         None
     }
 }
+
+// Unit tests covering valid and invalid cases
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use soroban_sdk::Env;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_valid_project_name() {
+        let env = Env::default();
+        let owner = Address::generate(&env);
+        let name = String::from_str(&env, "Valid-Project_Name123");
+        
+        let result = ProjectRegistry::register_project(
+            &env, owner, name, 
+            String::from_str(&env, "Desc"), String::from_str(&env, "Cat"), 
+            None, None, None
+        );
+        assert!(result.is_ok());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_empty_or_whitespace_name() {
+        let env = Env::default();
+        let owner = Address::generate(&env);
+        let name = String::from_str(&env, "   ");
+        
+        let result = ProjectRegistry::register_project(
+            &env, owner, name, 
+            String::from_str(&env, "Desc"), String::from_str(&env, "Cat"), 
+            None, None, None
+        );
+        assert_eq!(result, Err(Error::InvalidProjectName));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_invalid_characters_in_name() {
+        let env = Env::default();
+        let owner = Address::generate(&env);
+        let name = String::from_str(&env, "My Project *");
+        
+        let result = ProjectRegistry::register_project(
+            &env, owner, name, 
+            String::from_str(&env, "Desc"), String::from_str(&env, "Cat"), 
+            None, None, None
+        );
+        assert_eq!(result, Err(Error::InvalidProjectNameFormat));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_name_too_long() {
+        let env = Env::default();
+        let owner = Address::generate(&env);
+        // 51 characters
+        let name = String::from_str(&env, "ThisProjectNameIsWayTooLongAndExceedsTheFiftyCharL1");
+        
+        let result = ProjectRegistry::register_project(
+            &env, owner, name, 
+            String::from_str(&env, "Desc"), String::from_str(&env, "Cat"), 
+            None, None, None
+        );
+        assert_eq!(result, Err(Error::ProjectNameTooLong));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/dongle-smartcontract/src/types.rs b/dongle-smartcontract/src/types.rs
index e69de29..5707ae5 100644
--- a/dongle-smartcontract/src/types.rs
+++ b/dongle-smartcontract/src/types.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+pub struct Project {
+    pub id: u64,
+}