UNICEF Provides $100,000 Funding For Blockchain Startups

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has become the latest to fund blockchain technology research and development.

The body announced in a press release on Monday that they were giving out as much as $100,000 to six blockchain startups working on solving global challenges with the technology. The scope of their solutions ranges from healthcare to fund tracking, mobile phone connectivity, and social impact projects.

As per the release, the six blockchain startups who are receiving the funding were selected from a list of applications submitted by 100 aspirants. The six companies chosen for the UNICEF blockchain fund include Atix Labs, Onesmart, Prescrypto, Statwig, Utopixar, and W3 Engineers.

Chris Fabian, Principal Adviser, UNICEF Innovation admitted that funding blockchain startups right now is one of the ways that the body is creating a better world.

He said,

“Blockchain technology is still at an early stage — and there is a great deal of experimentation, failure, and learning ahead of us as we see how, and where, we can use this technology to create a better world.”

The startups are now expected to release a prototype version of their solution within twelve months.

UNICEF Promotes Blockchain Adoption in Developing Countries

What catches the eye in the UNICEF update is that the six startups come from world jurisdictions where blockchain technology is less popular. The most significant advancements in blockchain have been taking place in Asia and Europe but will now be diversified to newer territories.

The awarded startups come from Argentina, Mexico (two), India, Tunisia, and Bangladesh.

Atix Labs (Argentina) is said to be working on a solution that makes it easy for small businesses to get access to loans and includes a system that traces the movement of the funds and its impact.

Statwig (India) will use a blockchain-based solution to monitor a vaccine delivery supply chain with the aim of making the process more efficient.

Prescrypto (Mexico), on the other hand, is working on the health care sector and will use their blockchain application to store medical data that in turn lead to an improvement in the electronic prescription of drugs.

Utopixar (Tunisia) is working on a tool for easy community collaboration and decision making while W3 Engineers (Bangladesh) and Onesmart (Mexico) are also working on community-based blockchain solutions.