Just like any other technology, blockchain technology can be used for good as well as for bad motives. In this article, I will delve into how blockchain technology can be used for good, focusing on its value for the humanitarian sector and the world’s unbanked.
Close to a third of the adult population is still unbanked and does not have access to formal insurance, credit, or basic bank accounts. The world’s poor are especially affected by this problem as about 75 percent of Sub-Saharan Africans are being financially excluded.
One of the main reasons for the financial exclusion of the world’s poor is the relatively high administration and transaction costs for small deposits. On top of that, safety concerns and steep inflation rates play an important role.
Blockchain technology has the potential to remove these barriers excluding the poor from the formal financial system by reducing operational and transaction costs. Moreover, because of the decentralized nature of blockchain technology, central authorities are no longer needed to create bank accounts or to provide people with a secure and valid digital identity, using biometrics as means of verification.
Humanitarian organizations, such as the World Food Programme, have already started to take advantage of these properties and started to implement blockchain technology to help the world’s poor more effectively by creating digital wallets for them on the blockchain.
In this process, the WFP has saved millions in operational and transaction costs, and in addition, the beneficiaries of humanitarian aid are included in the formal financial system and are able to safely store their money.
Likewise, the Cardano blockchain platform is striving to include the poor in the formal financial system and has as its mission to create accessible financial services for everyone by means of blockchain technology.
Moreover, its network is comprised of a variety of mission-driven stake pools, pledging to donate their profit, or a part of it, to charitable organizations. This makes staking (delegating) ADA at these stake pools, not just a lucrative business, but it also has a positive impact.
One of these mission-driven stake pools is Mokum Stake Pool which has pledged to donate its profit to Save the Children that strives to create a better future for children, free from hunger, violence, and diseases. More information can be found at https://mokumstakepool.com/faq/.
