Blockchain technology enables greater social and economic impact and more transparency with efficient coordination than with more traditional systems. As part of our Social Impact Initiative, Chainlink is delighted to support the UNICEF Office of Innovation through the UNICEF Venture Fund and Giga by funding long- and short term projects that are advancing blockchain-based solutions in order to empower communities.
The UNICEF Venture Fund is looking to invest in solutions that can help improve accountability on service delivery and policies, improve access to connectivity and the digital world, grow and improve funding flows, and increase the standard of living for young people. For this round, UNICEF is focusing on projects that use cryptocurrencies, tokens, smart contracts, and blockchain oracles are the focus, along with learning and training initiatives. With these tools, projects will aim to achieve the following:
- Create transparent and efficient systems for exchanging value, track supply chains and value flow, and enable the trading of local commodities and assets in a decentralized manner.
- Offer innovative, sustainable models and rewards systems to generate value and create new economies and marketplaces, supporting the long-term development and delivery of services.
- Empower local communities to engage with existing systems in new ways through enabling access to financial services, better learning experiences, and new ways of collective decision-making and participation.
The deadline for submissions is 8 March 2022. If you would like to participate, please apply here.
Successful applicants will receive up to $100k in equity-free investment in the form of cryptocurrency from UNICEF, facilitating the creation of open-source public goods and opening up access to the value they generate across emerging markets. Projects building solutions that leverage Chainlink will automatically be pre-qualified for a Chainlink Social Impact grant to receive additional funding, technical guidance, and other support.
About the Chainlink Grant Program
The Chainlink Community Grant Program provides financial resources to the many development teams and researchers building a more functional, accessible, and socially impactful Chainlink Network. If you want to learn more about the Grant Program, check out our recent blog post that further expands upon its goals and the criteria for submission. We encourage talented individual developers and development teams to apply to the grant program here, or if you are a researcher and want to collaborate, contact us.
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
At UNICEF, innovative solutions take many forms: from tech innovation, including powerful tools like artificial intelligence and blockchains, to the frugal innovations that can easily be adopted, adapted, and scaled up. With our presence across the world and in alignment with a wide range of partners, we have the footprint to ensure innovative solutions are designed and delivered by, with and for the generation of children today, but also set the pace of change possible for future generations of children.
For more information about UNICEF’s Global Office of Innovation, please visit: //www.unicef.org/innovation/.
Originally posted here: https://blog.chain.link/chainlink-unicef-venture-fund-blockchain-technology/
