Blockchain for humanitarian aid disbursements
11-15, 15:40–15:50 (Asia/Bangkok), Stage 4

We will share learnings from pilots in Nepal with a blockchain based platform, Rahat. We’ll cover collaboration between UNICEF Nepal and Local Government bodies to develop and implement the technology for underbanked and unbanked communities. Additionally, we’ll share how the learnings are shaping for more use cases with smart contracts for anticipatory action before the onset of a climate disaster and use of stablecoins for aid.

Rumee, CEO of a UNICEF Innovation Fund portfolio startup, leads Rahat, a financial access platform focused on cash assistance and building financial resilience for the most vulnerable against climate shocks. With over 20 years of global leadership, Rumee Singh is celebrated among Nepal's leading women in tech; a 2023 MIT Solver and is featured in the Women for Change 2024 global campaign. Rumee is an electronics engineer and also has a journalism degree from Boston.

Arun is the Blockchain Lead at the Ventures Team @ UNICEF
Office of Innovation. He was instantly drawn to blockchains as they promised to
fulfil an unmet latent need of people - fairness. He works with the UN and Web3
ecosystems to enable pilots/PoCs/projects for positive outcomes in social,
humanitarian, financial and economic spheres. He has special interests in new
mechanisms for financial inclusion, transparent governance and where the real
world meets Web3.

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