Documenting Blockchain for the SDGs 3/3
Introducing the AID:Tech remittance solution
The development of AID:Tech’s remittance solution began to gain a huge amount of traction and attention throughout 2017 and 2018. In particular, AID:Tech received a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation.
In September 2017, AID:Tech CEO, Joseph Thompson, was named as the UN’s first Sustainable Development Goal Pioneer for blockchain technology. In the same month, AID:Tech was awarded Citi’s Tech for Integrity global game changer awards by IMF Managing Director, Madam. Christine Lagarde.
As we continue to design and develop the remittance solution, AID:Tech, as a company, is also gaining increasing recognition for our role in both encouraging cross-sector collaboration and also the potential of our technology in tackling fraud and corruption.
The AID:Tech remittance solution came to fruition and entered controlled environment testing in the first and second quarter of 2018. The public awareness campaign began in July and the public launch of the platform will take place in August.
Backed by UNDP Serbia, this pilot also recently gained the endorsement of other institutions including the National Bank of Serbia and the national Komercijalna Bank, as well as Nis city administration.
A key feature of this pilot — enabling senders to direct funds sent for utility or merchandise purposes, will allow the pilot to showcase one particular characteristic of blockchain technology — traceability. It enables UNDP and government administrators to trace the type of items being purchased. To adhere to data protection and privacy regulations, diligent practices have been put in place, including ensuring that personally identifiable information is not on the blockchain, nor are they accessible for the purpose of tracking to pilot administrators.
The pilot will take place over two months and comes to an end in October 2018. We anticipate that the pilot will provide invaluable data and knowledge on AID:Tech’s blockchain platform — a solid basis to explore opportunities and identify ways of refinement.
This entry is the last of a series of blog posts documenting AID:Tech’s journey in developing a remittance solution using blockchain technology with UNDP Serbia and other partners. Follow us on Medium to get the most up to date story.
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