Ted Hisokawa
Sep 22, 2024 11:59
Circle’s ‘Unlocking Impact’ pitch competition series makes a return at the UN Summit, presenting innovative initiatives designed to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Today marks an important occasion as Circle unveils the fourth edition of its ‘Unlocking Impact’ pitch competition series at the SDG Media Zone within UN Headquarters. This initiative coincides with the UN Summit of the Future and seeks to spotlight innovative solutions that leverage Circle’s technology to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as reported by circle.com.
Broadening Global Impact
The ‘Unlocking Impact’ series, which was first launched in New York in 2023, has grown into a global event that connects the humanitarian, corporate, and technology sectors. Its objective is to cultivate the development of new applications and services utilizing digital dollars and open blockchain networks to assist vulnerable communities, providing advantages that traditional financial services often do not offer.
Past winners, including Ensuro and Rahat, have already made notable progress. Ensuro employs blockchain and smart contracts to improve efficiency and inclusivity in insurance, while Rahat utilizes similar technologies to ensure swift and precise delivery of aid directly to beneficiaries’ mobile devices. Collectively, they have reached nearly 200,000 individuals, delivering essential services to small farmers, victims of climate disasters, and other at-risk populations.
Today’s Participants
The current competition showcases several promising projects:
- ATLANTE: Focused on promoting financial inclusion in frontier markets, ATLANTE provides microloans to entrepreneurs in the Kakuma refugee camp, fostering sustainable economic growth and transforming regions reliant on aid.
- Etherisc Impact B.V.: This initiative harnesses blockchain to develop accessible, transparent, and efficient insurance solutions, tackling global issues such as climate risk and financial exclusion.
- Kshetra: Kshetra’s ImpactCred marketplace links social enterprises with impact investors to facilitate bridge financing and working capital loans, driving innovation towards the UN SDGs.
- Moja: A Techstars alumnus, Moja offers a platform for group savings, lending, and investment using USDC, with operations in Cambridge, USA, Nairobi, Kenya, and London.
Judging Panel
The competition will be assessed by a prestigious panel, which includes:
- Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy, Circle
- Taha Bawa, Co-founder and CEO, Goodwall
- Timothy Rann, Managing Partner, MercyCorps
- Erica Moret, Director, United Nations Affairs & International Organisations, Microsoft
- Amina Tirana, Professor of Public Service, New York University
- Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of the Innovation Accelerator, UN World Food Programme
- Ruben Galindo Steckel, CEO, Airtm
- Ana Rold, CEO, Diplomatic Courier
- Ranuak Mittal, Director, Technology and Innovation Lab, World Bank Group
The next ‘Unlocking Impact’ pitch competition is planned for October 26 in Washington, DC, during the 2024 Annual Meetings of the World Bank.
Image source: Shutterstock
