Humanitarian Council members include the Algorand Foundation,
Circle, Worldpay, Mercy Corps Ventures, HesabPay, the United
Nations Development Programme, and others
BARCELONA, Spain, June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in a move led by the
Algorand Foundation, a coalition of fintech, web3, and humanitarian
organizations announced the formation of a council seeking to
increase access to blockchain-based cash assistance during
humanitarian crises. The council's objective – among other
activities – is to advise UN agencies and NGOs on using blockchain
technology for aid payments, and to develop a roadmap for the
successful piloting of blockchain-based cash programs in distressed
areas.
![Algorand Foundation logo (PRNewsfoto/Algorand Foundation) Algorand Foundation logo (PRNewsfoto/Algorand Foundation)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2372631/Algorand_Foundation_Logo.jpg)
Over the past decade, the United Nations and NGOs have begun to
offer more cash-based assistance (vs. in-kind or service
assistance). According to the CALP Network, a thought leader in
humanitarian cash and voucher assistance, this form of assistance
now comprises 21% of all international humanitarian aid, reaching
$10 billion in 2022, and there is
potential for that proportion to be much higher (source).
Humanitarian organizations are working to deliver this kind of aid
as rapidly and economically as possible whilst navigating ever more
complex financial regulations. Given this, the projects under the
purview of this council will explore the potential benefits and
opportunities of blockchain-based payment solutions in addressing
these particular constraints.
The aim in using blockchain is to first offset the lack of
financial and technological infrastructure in aid locations such as
Afghanistan and others. In these
regions, applying blockchain technology could bring more efficiency
and ease to the delivery of cash-based aid, making it possible to
respond on an even larger scale.
Scaling cash-based aid also requires transparency. Cash aid
programs need to be traceable and auditable without infringing on
the rights of its beneficiaries. By using blockchain, organizations
can maintain an immutable, unchangeable record of how cash was
distributed, without disclosing how it is used by the recipient.
This model protects the privacy of those in crisis while
maintaining the traceability and verification that aid programs,
donors, and governments need.
Built on Algorand, global payment app HesabPay is already
proving the effectiveness of merging blockchain and aid delivery.
It facilitates the world's largest humanitarian project ever to be
run on a public blockchain, bringing support to more than 14,000
families in Afghanistan in
collaboration with United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and
supported by the WFP Innovation Accelerator.
Bernhard Kowatsch, head of the
WFP Innovation Accelerator, added, "The success of HesabPay in
Afghanistan highlights the
significant impact and scalability of this technology. We are eager
to extend these innovations globally to revolutionize aid
delivery."
"Direct cash-based humanitarian assistance has been growing
rapidly and is the future thanks to the extraordinary benefits cash
provides for recipients. To be effective, humanitarian payments
must meet several requirements: instant settlement, easily scalable
to thousands if not millions of recipients, and transparent
and traceable," said Matt Keller,
director of impact at the Algorand Foundation. "Blockchain checks
all of these boxes, and one reason we invested in HesabPay, which
delivers humanitarian aid payments in Afghanistan without sacrificing time or
accountability."
"At Circle Impact, our mission since 2021 has been to empower
underserved communities and reach people who have traditionally
been excluded from financial systems. We are excited to be part of
the Humanitarian Council, where we can cultivate a new generation
of financial inclusion aimed at powering humanitarian aid and
disaster relief," said Mercina Tillemann-Perez, Vice President of
Circle Impact.
"Launching 16 crypto pilots in 10+ countries over
the past 4 years, Mercy Corps Ventures has been actively deploying
first-of-a-kind real world use cases in the humanitarian and
development context leveraging blockchain technology. We're now
building out a Humanitarian Venture Lab with a pipeline of
humanitarian pilots, use cases, and insights that show where the
challenges Algorand Foundation is addressing are playing out - and
getting solved - in real time," said Sandra Uwantege Hart,
Humanitarian Venture Lab lead at Mercy Corps Ventures.
"Humanitarian crises demand faster, more transparent aid
solutions. Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize
aid delivery through unparalleled traceability. If this initiative
can match the speed and efficiency of the 40 billion+ transactions
Worldpay processes annually, there is an opportunity to provide
life-saving support to the millions facing humanitarian crises,
ensuring funds reach those in need without delay," said Ahmed
Zifzaf, head of crypto/web3 partnerships for
Worldpay.
"In UNDP, we are exploring with Algorand how digital payments
can bring transparency while making payments with more speed and
trust to support the lives in countries without a strong banking
ecosystem. Special attention is being paid to supporting the work
of civil society organizations, such as through our Tadamon network
of 4000 CSOs," said Robert Pasicko, Innovation Team Leader a.i. at
UNDP.
Serving council members currently include:
- Sandra Uwantege Hart, Humanitarian Venture Lab Lead at Mercy
Corps Ventures
- Mercina Tillemann Perez, Vice President, Circle Impact at
Circle
- Paula Gil Baizan, PoliSync
Centre for International Policy Engagement
- Ahmed Zifzaf, Head of Crypto/Web3 Partnerships at
Worldpay
- Hasan Fallaha, Livelihoods and
Economic Recovery programme Analyst at UNDP Syria
- Ali Theyab Al-Zuhairi, Economic Reform (FFER-FED) Project
Coordinator at the UNDP Iraq Country Office
- Robert Pasicko, Innovation Team Leader a.i., United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP)
- Henri de Jong, Chief Business
Development Officer at Quantoz
- Rory Crew, Technical Advisor on
Data & Digitalization at the CALP Network
- Nigel Pont, Senior Advisor at
HesabPay
- Suzana Moreno, Blockchain
Technology Strategy and Portfolio Project Manager at WFP Innovation
Accelerator
- Kelly Stablein, Independent
Humanitarian Consultant
About Algorand Foundation
Algorand's
mission is to power a world where information has integrity
and innovative ideas can scale. The Algorand
Foundation supports Algorand's
rapidly growing ecosystem by providing a best-in-class
developer environment, supporting key infrastructure and setting
technical standards, offering comprehensive support to builders and
entrepreneurs, and providing the infrastructure for
decentralized governance.
Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali in 2019, Algorand has grown into a
vibrant ecosystem of developers, entrepreneurs, and enterprise
partners that benefit from institutional-grade certainty and
resilience, while features like low fees, instant finality, and a
minimal carbon footprint also appeal to the protocol's millions of
retail users. Builders of all kinds can use common programming
languages like Python to develop advanced apps and protocols that
solve important problems at a global scale: instant payments in war
and disaster zones, self-sovereign identity for the
disenfranchised, supply-chain traceability for global commerce,
permissionless protocols addressing financial inclusion, and the
creation of entirely new markets through tokenization, to name a
few. To learn more and start your journey on Algorand, visit
algorand.foundation.
About Circle
Circle is a global financial technology
firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of
digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce
and financial applications worldwide. Circle is the issuer of USDC
and EURC - highly liquid, interoperable, and trusted money
protocols on the internet. Circle's open and programmable platform
and APIs make it easy for organizations to run their internet-scale
business, whether it is making international payments, building
globally-accessible Web3 apps, or managing their internal treasury.
Learn more at https://circle.com.
About HesabPay
HesabPay is a global payment app at the
forefront of global financial inclusion, targeting the 2 billion
unbanked individuals worldwide. With exponential growth, HesabPay
now boasts over half a million users, facilitating $35 million in peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers
monthly. The platform serves 250,000 households in managing their
bill payments and supports over two dozen donors in distributing
humanitarian cash assistance. HesabPay's impact is evident in its
expansive reach and the vital financial lifeline it provides.
Discover the full extent of HesabPay's services at
hesab.com.
About Mercy Corps Ventures
Mercy Corps Ventures
invests in and catalyzes venture-led solutions to increase the
resilience of underserved individuals and communities. Founded in
2015 as the impact investing arm of global development agency,
Mercy Corps, we've supported 50 early-stage ventures to scale and
raise over $465 million in follow-on
capital. 44% of our portfolio has at least 1 female co-founder and
centers around climate adaptation and resilience-building solutions
in adaptive agriculture and food systems, inclusive fintech, and
climate-smart technologies, so that those living in frontier
markets can withstand disruption and plan for the future. Through
capital and support, piloting new approaches, action-oriented
insights, and rigorously managing impact, we catalyze the ecosystem
toward smarter, more impactful investments. Learn more at
www.mercycorpsventures.vc.
About Worldpay
Worldpay is a leading payments
technology and solutions company with unique capabilities to power
omni-commerce across the globe. Our processing solutions allow
businesses of all sizes to take, make and manage payments in-person
and online from anywhere in the world. Annually, we process over 40
billion transactions across 146 countries and 135 currencies. We
help our customers become more efficient, more secure and more
successful.
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SOURCE Algorand Foundation