Six Blockchain Startups Graduate from UNICEF’s Innovation Fund
Blockchain startups share progress after year-long portfolio experience with UNICEF
In December 2019, six blockchain companies -- our first blockchain cohort -- started their UNICEF Innovation Fund portfolio experience.
The companies were thoroughly supported during the year-long portfolio experience and have now ‘graduated’. The start-ups are Atix Labs (Argentina), OS City (Mexico), Precrypto (Mexico), StaTwig (India), W3 Engineers (Bangladesh) and Utopixar (Tunisia).
Here are the main achievements, impact and growth over their investment period:
Utopixar
Utopixar developed a platform that enables collaborations amongst communities and organisations to facilitate participative decision making and value transfer.
- Finished the development of their platform allowing communities to easily create their own currencies, take collective decisions, share resources and reward contributions.
- Around 1300 individuals and approx. 30 associations have tested the solution and learned about potential benefits of blockchain and community coins to boost projects, mobilize resources and leverage synergies.
Read more about Utopixar’s 1-year development here.
Prescrypto
Prescrypto is providing a digital solution to the lack of electronic prescriptions in developing countries with a platform that allows medical service providers to view one common history of a patient, and improve the level of care.
- In 2019, monthly doctor sign-ups grew 20x
- Closed a deal with an important pharma lab to develop a personalized healthcare prescription tool to be deployed in July 2020
- To date:
- 2500 medical doctors have registered
- 12,000 new monthly medical prescriptions processed through the platform
- 160,000 patients have benefited from this service.
Read more about Prescrypto’s 1-year development here.
Statwig
Statwig is using a blockchain-based solution to ensure the efficient logistics delivery of vaccines through an enhanced supply-chain management system.
- Tracked 1.2M vaccines at batch level from the central warehouse to districts and then to villages. These vaccines were used for a children’s immunization program in Arunachal Pradesh (rural India).
- Signed an MoU with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to track all vaccines in Kenya in support of the Kenya Health Ministry.
- Used their technology for food: tracked 110 million bags of rice for the Government of Telangana
Read more about Statwig’s 1-year development here.
W3 Engineers
W3 Engineers built a mobile connectivity platform. It allows users within the network to give connectivity access to other users directly between smartphones, instead of relying on internet and cell networks.
- Successfully completed pilots on three different locations in Bangladesh including:
- Pilot in Cox’s Bazar Town that connected 53 people (urban)
- Pilot in Chalna, Dacope that connected 86 people (rural)
- Pilot in Dhaka and Khulna (connect two remote mesh networks) that connected 45 people (two cities)
- Received follow on funding from Ethereum Classic Labs
Read more about W3 Engineers 1-year development here.
Atix Labs
Atix Labs developed the Circle of Angels platform for small to medium-sized enterprises to gain access to funding, while creating traceability in where the funds are used and measuring impact.
- Finished the minimum viable prototype of the platform
- Three enterprises were matched with angel funders for a total of US$115K, using the impact tracking abilities of their platform -- and one enterprise successfully paid back a $40K loan to their funders
- Secured follow-on funding of RSK for further technology development
Read more about Atix Labs 1-year development here.
OS City
OS City is a company that uses blockchain and artificial intelligence to help city authorities provide digital services. Its purpose is to improve governments’ efficiency and trust, aiming to build a more sustainable future. Within a year of collaborating with UNICEF Innovation, OS City:
- Successfully created and integrated blockchain digital certificates into their city platform issuing 10,000 certs and reaching a population of 650,000 in Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica and Chile that interact with local institutions receiving the unprecedented, tamper-proof and most secure digital assets including:
- Education: Certified the graduation of 380 students from two schools in Argentina
- Government: Certified 8000 public records ranging from commercial licenses, permits and city inspectors to energy records and public lottery registries in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico.
- Supply Chain: Certified 15 brands including wine derivatives in Argentina and indigenous handcrafted products in Mexico
- Social Sector: Issued 770 certificates including the Latin American Cada Dia Cuenta Hackathon participation certificates and sustainability commitments with the Observatory for Sustainable Development in Spain.
- Received follow on funding from Ethereum Classic Labs along with blockchain-related revenues
Read more about OS City’s 1-year development here.
As part of graduation support, the UNICEF team works on collaborating with other organizations that may be interested in funding, accelerating the startups or that may want to explore using these solutions in a new context or community. An example of this was a collaboration within UNICEF and Ethereum Classic Labs (ETC) where three companies from UNICEF’s portfolio received follow-on funding.
- If you want to support or work with any of our startups reach out to Cecilia Chapiro: cchapiro@unicef.org
To learn more about UNICEF’s Innovation Fund, visit here and to learn about our work with blockchain, visit here.
