Author – Sam, United Kingdom
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also seems to be joining the crypto world as it aims to fund early-stages of blockchain based startups with the potential of helping boost its children operation. The UN children based program announce the news that it will be offering equity-free investments of around $50,000–90,000 to startups based on blockchain technology surrounding smart contracts, tokens, mining and data analysis.
Reports of such technology innovation push began in February 2016, after the UN program indicated it was looking to boost technology innovation. Initially, the UNICEF stated that it was largely interested in digital identity and remittances but later shifted to blockchain technology. It later invested in a South Africa blockchain startup 9Needs, which is planning to develop identifications for early childhood education. The startup received roughly $100,000 in investments from the UNICEF’s Office of Innovation Ventures the UN program innovation fund.
The UN has also been carrying out its Blockchain based test in areas of microfinance and connecting of devices through the UN’s Alternative Financing Lab, its blockchain investment fund. The blockchain appetite seems to be growing as UN diplomatic missions from Bangladesh and El Salvador met and discussed possible ways how the technology can help the UN achieve its global sustainability goals.
Selected and approved projects will receive technical assistance venture’s blockchain technical team. The teams will work hand in hand with the startups as they look forward to perfecting their projects and the underlying cryptography technology. The startups will also have an option to be part of the UNICEF Ventures’ data sharing platform, a platform that aims at providing mentorship, helping in the creation of business models and business strategy creation from the blockchain dedicated team.
In 2016 Chris Fabian, the leader of the UNICEF’s Office of Innovation Ventures, said that the initial funding of startups is just the first milestone as the fund hopes to find and fund more tech-based humanitarian projects. The UNICEF technology fund is among many organizations that are trying to harness the full potential of the blockchain technology as its functions and applicability are endless. The blockchain is an open source code that allows users to alter, change or create blockchain products and applications from it.
This comes as Ethereum Decentralized application (DApps) is taking shape in its infancy stages. Organizations are solemnly interested in the blockchain technology as it offers a new level of internet security. Many are referring the tech as internet 3.0 as its capability is endless from non-profit facilitation to profit ventures and humanitarian missions.
