Blockchain for inclusive and sustainable development, reality or fantasy?

Under the title, Blockchain for inclusive and sustainable development, reality or fantasy?, The World Investment Forum, held recently at the Palais des Nations in Geneva (Switzerland), offered for the tenth time a multi-stakeholder platform to facilitate dialogue and the search for solutions to the main global investment and development challenges.

For the first time, this body invited world leaders in blockchain technology, including businessmen, regulators, academics and senior government officials.

The participants in the event highlighted how new technologies have been a great discovery for developing countries. For example, the use of mobile phones to help fight poverty. In this sense, all the participants underlined the importance of the application of blockchain for the third sector.

Binance and its charitable foundation

The blockchain charitable foundation Binance (BCF) announced during the Forum the launch of a platform to make donations. This foundation uses the blockchain to offer complete transparency and efficiency, which allows it to ensure that one hundred percent of the donations reach their beneficiaries, according to Helen Hai, head of the Binance foundation.

This difficulty in accessing financial markets or financing represents a major barrier to development. In a globalized society, there are very few economies that can satisfy all their needs on their own.

In some way, we are all participants in the export and import activity, which means that if your local currency is not accepted outside your community you live in economic isolation.

To respond to the lack of money and combat poverty, Galia Benartzi, co-founder of Bancor , highlighted that thanks to blockchain and smart contracts, her company had managed to introduce the concept of liquid community currencies.

During his speech, he explained that the so-called smart contracts allow them to program the tokens and customize their behavior in an unprecedented way.

local trade

Bancor is defined as a decentralized liquidity network to encourage local commerce. This entity offers communities the possibility of creating their own liquid community currencies to be able to exchange goods and services. By integrating the ability to be converted by other community currencies that are part of the network, the potential for economic activity and direct access to money is expanded.

The company, which has developed a pilot project in Kenya , is seeing that most of the goods and services that are exchanged are food products, which is helping to alleviate hunger.

Another interesting issue detected by community care workers is that women are the best empowered and the ones who use and circulate these liquid community currencies the most.

All these practices are generating a formidable impact on gender equality, since traditionally it was the man who left the community to earn the national currency, hoping to contribute money to the family economy.

With the community coins, the women, in addition to creating economic well-being, circulate the coins within their community.

Revolutionize the supply chain

World Investment Forum participants also highlighted the potential of blockchain to revolutionize supply chain management, increasing traceability, security and efficiency. In the case of food supply, the blockchain allows small producers to access the digital economy for the first time in history.

In this sense, Sander de Jong, director general of Fairfood International, shared his vision on the future of the food system and called for responsibility for small farmers.

Regarding the risks that the adoption of blockchain may entail from an environmental and social point of view, in the Forum some contradictory opinions were collected in this regard.

Thus, entrepreneurship, collective leadership and examples of successful projects were identified as key elements to promote resilience and social responsibility.

Partnerships with the Climate Coalition

Alliances such as the Climate Chain Coalition, created by the UN, or the Blockchain Observatory and Forum created by the EU, reinforce the commitment with stakeholders to use the blockchain to achieve the Sustainable Development goals.

As for the carbon footprint, being one of the main problems associated with blockchain technology, it was not an obstacle for many due to the rapid evolution of technology and the development of more efficient solutions, such as the proof-of-protocol. -stake or proof of participation.

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The potential of blockchain to increase transparency, mobilize resources and promote financial inclusion was also highlighted.

In this sense, it was highlighted that we live in a world in which there is asymmetric information and where very few really understand the financing mechanisms.

engage people

The approach of the participants in the Forum is that if developing countries are not involved in the design of blockchain solutions, there is a risk of creating another form of isolation that further separates people who have connectivity. and opportunities with those who do not have them.

The speakers also made it clear that, in general, conversations about the use of new technologies are governed by fear, uncertainty and the media. Regarding the media, they said that they are operated by the same profit structure that the technology itself is challenging.

Finally, at the “Blockchain for inclusive and sustainable development” conference, the need to become aware and keep an open mind was raised in order to fully unlock the growth potential of blockchain technology, maximizing positive impacts and minimizing adverse effects.