This project saw AID:Tech deliver Digital Identity and subsequently, international aid to Syrian refugees in Tripoli, Lebanon in December 2015. Using our Blockchain technology, AID:Tech worked alongside the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and delivered identity in the form of 500 smart cards to 100 Syrian families. Each smart card also contains records of aid entitlement, which beneficiaries were able to redeem via our local merchant partners. The results of this project were astounding as not only all aid provisions were successfully redeemed, AID:Tech was also able to provide transparency of the overall journey via a dedicated platform for our agency partner, IFRC.
As the first successful Blockchain project that distributed international aid, we also proved the capacity of our solutions to eliminate fraud; all fraudulent attempts were foiled at points of sale. The onboarding and training process took an average of 10 minutes, with partners and beneficiaries all expressing positive feedback. AID:Tech’s core goal is to produce social and financial impact for the world’s underserved.
We do so by marrying access with identity through the use of emerging technology. There are currently around 2 billion people in the world without access to a bank account, many of whom without legal identity; their lack of access to formal social and financial services are direct inhibitors against micro and macro development. Whilst the importance of financial inclusion has become a hot topic in the recent years, a significant obstacle lies with overall supply chain management and capacity. There is little innovation in how existing systems boost finance and resource flows; although the means of technology is increasingly available, processes continue to be opaque and fragmented.
AID:Tech developed our Blockchain-based solutions including digital identity and delivery of digital entitlement to directly tackle the issue of access and to make transparency and accountability an integral element of data and service supply chains. We offer our solutions to international NGOs and charities at cost, whom we work with to reach our end-users in both developing and developed worlds. One of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, No. 16, specifically seeks to provide everybody with access to just and equitable institutional support, including a legal identity for all by 2030. By enabling customised services such as asset creation, transfer on top of a Digital Identity infrastructure, AID:Tech’s bring social and financial inclusion for the underserved & undocumented through Blockchain technology. AID:Tech provides both dedicated digital identity solutions, as well as additional services that makes delivery of international aid, social welfare, remittance and donations possible.
For end-users, they become equipped with a Digital ID profile that provides multifaceted usage. For end-users, the solution begins with a basic identity profile that can be built into a credible, legal profile. Shortterm benefits include service accessibility through intelligent distribution, whilst long-term benefits see end-users independently building their path to greater inclusion with control over their personal data. For our client partners, who are likely the service providers too, they gain complete control and transparency over their own supply chain. AID:Tech’s offering is a streamlined alternative to existing solutions that are outpaced by current demands processes are siloed, data are fragmented, where they are often duplicated, misused and lost. These obstacles are not only costly, with $1.1 trillion is lost every year from developing countries due to illicit outflows but stops endusers from financial inclusion and access to social services.
With AID:Tech’s platforms, aid and welfare providers gain a clear view of resource journeys, from allocation to delivery, to point of expenditure by the end-user. Underpinned by Blockchain technology, every activity is permanently recorded, transparently and trackable. AID:Tech’s platforms can be set up and easily plugged into existing infrastructure within a matter of minutes. With activity records periodically synced across the network - the platforms offer multiple points of access without the risk of a single point of failure. AID:Tech’s current clients include the United Nations (UN), the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), Walmart and governments of Serbia, Armenia, Jordan and Ukraine. AID:Tech is unique with first-mover advantage. In the last two years, as well as a growing client network, we are also developing partnerships with corporations such as PwC, the Citigroup and IBM to further the reach of AID:Tech’s platforms. We are also working foundations such as the Rockefeller to establish a global standard for digital identity.