Blockchain for Digital Inclusion Cohort Update
Key insights from the UNICEF Venture Fund's investment period with the cohort developing blockchain-based solutions toward digital inclusion and improved access to essential community services
In December 2022 the UNICEF Venture Fund, in collaboration with Giga, onboarded four new startups focused on solutions that improve accountability of service delivery and policies; grow and improve funding flows; and improve equity in access to connectivity and the digital world.
Each of the four startups, selected from over 350 applications to the cohort from over 51 countries, received up to $100K equity-free investments in USD and/or cryptocurrency through the UNICEF Venture Fund and UNICEF CryptoFund.
In the last six months, UNICEF has provided the four teams with tailored technical mentorships in Open Source development, software development, blockchain technology, business model development and strategy, and the generation of evidence of impact and results. The cohort has also benefited from technical and programmatic expertise from Giga.
- The refined architecture design and technical specifications for the CHATS platform has been deployed, laying a solid foundation for CHATS MVP, which has been beta-tested for humanitarian cash and voucher assistance projects.
- Some of the core functions of CHATS developed include secure transaction processing, decentralized identity management, transparent fund tracking, campaign reporting, and multi-language module
- Humanitarian organizations including Sasaki Foundation, Girl Child Initiative, and Philanthropists, amongst others, have used the CHATS platform due to its ease in aid distribution and transparency
- The CHATS platform has reached over 10,000 beneficiaries to date and over 1/3 of the beneficiaries are women and/or girls
- Partnered with leading Humanitarian organizations, such as ServeLead, Social Good Fund, Tag Africa, Milsat Africa, SoloHan Foundation
- Successfully completed the first external audit of their solution
Interested in supporting Convexity’s growth and impact?
As Convexity continues to advance CHATS and strive for a larger-scale impact, they are seeking to connect with partners carrying out cash and voucher assistance projects across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and also impact investors for their seed round funding.
- Finalized the development of the main functionality of the platform (Backend and Frontend) and are ready to deploy a pilot and test the core functionalities.
- Onboarded a local notable NGO, Escola Conectada, as a strategic partner that will support in connecting with the ISPs and key stakeholder for the pilot.
- Successfully completed the first external audit of their solution
Interested in supporting Investtools growth and impact?
Investtools is seeking partners to test and validate the operational side of the platform and moving forward, for connections with ISPs, to validate potential incentives for the platform.
- WiiQare is developing a health payments platform that connects payers, patients, and providers to simplify healthcare financing in Africa. Africans abroad may purchase an NFT health voucher and send it to a loved one in Africa who, in turn, may redeem it for treatment at partnering healthcare providers.
- Product development has led to the successful completion of separate payer and provider web apps, as well as an enterprise dashboard.
- A market research was conducted with 121 African migrants, followed by user testing of WiiQare’s platform with potential migrant payers, potential beneficiaries, and DRC healthcare providers.
- Feedback gathered from users is informing improvements to the platform in preparation for additional beta testing and product launch.
Interested in supporting WiiQare’s growth and impact?
While WiiQare’s initial pilot is being carried out with individual payers, WiiQare is also looking to connect with NGOs and other aid organizations to pilot its health payments platform.
- Successfully developed their XOneFi Android Mobile Application
- The team is currently working on the public blockchain deployment to enable scalable wireless sharing and efficient token distribution
- Tested the solution in a local university with 50 users
- Successfully completed the first external audit of their solution
- Confirmed Saint Aloysius Primary and Secondary School in Nigeria as the pilot partner, for the pilot that will be initiated in the 2nd half of the investment period
Interested in supporting Xmesh’s growth and impact?
Xmesh is looking for pilot partners in Nigeria to pilot their solution that provides high-speed Internet access to beneficiaries while incentivizing cost-effective Internet usage and is looking to collaborate with investors to further scale their solution.
Insights from the Cohort
Some learnings from the cohort as it moves forward into the second half of its investment period with the Venture Fund. We are grateful to both our mentors and portfolio companies for their thoughtful insights and contributions here:
- The startups are building diverse solutions with a wide set of applications that could include pathways to sustainability through integration into other technology or as stand-alone businesses.
- Startup 101 Best Practices:
- Designing with the user from day one is a well-known industry best practice, but not always followed. The startups have uncovered the value of following this practice and implementing regular user feedback sessions, conducting user testing, and actively involving stakeholders to ensure the solution aligns with their needs, expectations, and ensures a seamless and enjoyable user experience
- Using the fundaments of the lean startup methodology, using feedback loops to test and iterate, continues to benefit startups. We've seen companies embrace change from an early stage, which resulted in a full product development strategy re-vamp and realigned vision for the solution.
- The importance of results and evidence of impact framing continues to be recognized as a pillar for spring boarding future growth opportunities for the startups. By integrating best practices as early as possible to enable diligent data collection, startups are able to demonstrate tangible results and evidence of impact, thus attracting further support and strengthening the project's credibility.
- Cryptocurrency continues to support the embracement of decentralization and the potential for financial inclusion. This decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies continues to promote financial inclusion by enabling individuals who are unbanked or underbanked to access financial services and participate in the global economy. It encourages organizations to explore new ways of leveraging blockchain technology, smart contracts, and decentralized finance (DeFi) to enhance transparency, traceability, and efficiency in their operations.
- Legal and regulatory considerations with crypto pose potential challenges, as the landscape for cryptocurrency laws are still evolving and varies by location.
- After working through the initial hurdles of accepting crypto for the first time and setting up the operational framework to disburse payments, the startups acknowledge that crypto simplifies the payment process for both team members and vendors operating in different countries, greatly easing cross border payment processes.
- However, crypto fluctuations continue to be a top consideration for companies receiving funding in crypto. While this cohort has benefited from the upside of crypto fluctuations, this is not always the case, and the companies have to have a strong operational structure in place to navigate both the potential appreciations and depreciations of the currencies.
