Wisdom From The Women Leading The Blockchain Revolution, With UNICEF’s Cecilia Chapiro

I would say that I know how when you hear about blockchain and crypto, it can feel very overwhelming. But because it is a growing industry both men and women in it really want new people to come in.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Cecilia Chapiro.

Cecilia is passionate about using technology and innovative financing to enable entrepreneurial ecosystems to grow and progress the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Cecilia Chapiro joined the United Nations in 2017, where she structured their first investment vehicle that invests in blockchain startups that improve the lives of children. In 2019, she launched the U.N.’s first CryptoFund, an innovative investment tool that allows the organization to explore the use of crypto currencies for humanitarian projects. She is also the founder of Yunus & Youth, a platform that empowers young people to build, develop and expand social enterprises with technology to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story of how you decided to pursue this career path? What lessons can others learn from your story?

I was born and raised in Argentina, a country with more than 40 percent of people below the poverty line. Seeing poor children in the streets was unfortunately a common thing. Wanting to change this reality, I joined several nonprofits from a young age. While I was inspired by their mission, I saw the shortcomings in the charitable model — when the money dries up, projects get discontinued. I wanted to create a model that delivered social value without being dependent on perpetual external funding — to create financially sustainable social enterprises. Interested in alleviating the financial stress of charities in my country, I discovered the work of Muhammad Yunus. Reading about his framework to use social businesses to empower people out of poverty led me to build Yunus & Youth, an organization that leverages technology to remove educational barriers between countries and generations. Through Y&Y I got to work with thousands of social entrepreneurs in developing countries and one thing was clear: they needed funding to grow.

But as I got more involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, another thing was clear: there is a lot of money available, but it is mostly available in developed markets. It is very difficult, however, for minorities and founders from developing countries to connect with the funding sources.

So when the opportunity to support the development of an investment vehicle for social entrepreneurs within the United Nations came about, I jumped right to it. As I was getting more involved in the funding of humanitarian projects, I was also exposed to the challenges of the funding process and that is how I started to explore the use of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

I sometimes think that I didn’t choose a career path, but that I saw injustices that I wanted to solve. So ever since I have memory, I’ve been working on new tools and structures to help humanitarian programs be more effective and long-lasting.

Can you tell me about the most interesting projects you are working on now?

One of the most interesting things I’m working on now is in the growth of investments to female-led founders. After several years of working on this, UNICEF’s Innovation Fund currently has 40% of the investments on women led companies. While this percentage is already much higher than the industry average, we want to reach 50%.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Are there anya ppeoplearticular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Absolutely! So many people helped me along the way, and without them I would not be where I am today. I am very much thankful to Professor Yunus for his work to revolutionize the financial opportunities poor people have. His work really changed my professional trajectory and I was honored to receive his trust and support when I decided to build an organization to support youth in their journey of social entrepreneurs, leading to Yunus & Youth. A story not many know about my time in Bangladesh is that when I went there there were national riots due to politics to the point that I was told that an ambulance would pick me up from the airport to avoid the bombings in the streets. But when Prof. Yunus confirmed our meeting, I didn’t hesitate to go.

I’m also very thankful to Mark, whom I met during my graduate school studies. At the time I wasn’t sure how to go about my career growth, especially when I had (have) so many parallel interests. When in grad school (and many times after), Mark was always the perfect sounding board, helping me figure out the next big step.

And another person that has shaped my professional career was Chris, a former supervisor of mine. He led by example, and without knowing it, shaped the manager I later became.

What are the 3 things that most excite you about blockchain and crypto? Why?

First, the idea of a secure system that allows us to trust a system without intermediaries. This is especially relevant in today’s world, where >30% of the population are unbanked and consequently have limited, expensive or no options for loans, to gain credit, to save, or to transfer money. Blockchain is allowing us to explore a new ecosystem of solutions towards financial inclusion without the need of banks.

Second, the ability to track money as it moves from one agent to the next. This is particularly appealing in the public sector and for international organizations. How many times do people wonder how are governments using public funds? Or where did my donation go? Blockchain is helping us explore this.

Third, the ability of developing smart contracts that can make existing systems more efficient at a lower cost. You can for example use a smart contract to trigger faster aid after a natural disaster.

It’s important to note that as excited I am with the above, blockchain is still a technology on exploration. We need more pilots and results before we are able to make the above a certainty.

What are the 3 things that worry you about blockchain and crypto? Why?

I can talk about small things that should be improved about blockchain (eg. network efficiencies like reducing gas fees to make it more accessible, wider adoption of crypto forensics so that illicit activity is not easily covered, legislation so that there is more stability) but the truth is I think as an incipient technology, all the small things that worry me will improve with time (I hope!).

The one thing that really worries me, it’s the environmental footprint that operating a blockchain generates. While I think this will improve with time (it already is), it is important to note that we are already late on the timeline and while I think the benefits of blockchain in the humanitarian sector are worth the continued exploration, we need to focus our attention on reducing the environmental cost, now.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share a story?

A few months ago, we did a round of investment from the UNICEF Innovation Fund and CryptoFund in a group of startups using blockchain technology to improve financial inclusion. 100% of the cohort was led by minorities and >50% by women. As I said before, blockchain is still an exploratory technology, and so is its humanitarian impact. The eight startups that received funding from UNICEF will use the funds to grow their solutions, generate more evidence of impact with the ultimate goal of including more people in the financial world.

As you know there are not that many women in your industry. Can you share 5 things that you would advise to other women in the blockchain space to thrive?

I would say that I know how when you hear about blockchain and crypto, it can feel very overwhelming. But because it is a growing industry both men and women in it really want new people to come in. So the main thing I would say is don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone that you see doing something that looks interesting. Chances are, they will help you get more savvy as you move along.

Can you advise what is needed to engage more women into the blockchain industry?

I think the main thing that is needed is more awareness in the VC world around investing in female-led projects. I can’t believe that in the US, the last average of investments in female led companies is below 10%. Working as an investor myself, I know there are many female-led companies out there so I would say, let’s start with the awareness and action where the funding decisions are made.

What is your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that had relevance to your own life?

I think we grow up learning that careers are linear. When we are kids for example, we talk about wanting to become a doctor or a lawyer. Just one thing. But things change, our passions change or the theory of a role or a project doesn’t match reality. Life, as I learned, is not linear. And when things don’t work out the way we thought they would, it is easy to feel disappointed. It is in those moments that I remind myself that “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” to move on and move onwards.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would say that I would love to see governments speeding up their technology adoption and the corresponding legislation. The cost of the delay here has many negative ramifications, very evident for example with social media and the lack of updated legislation allowing companies to decide important matters to their discretion. Regarding cryptocurrencies, it is important to have legislation that regulates the market. Absence of this will only grow the illicit activity that undermines the benefits that the technology can create.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

TW @ceciliachapiro

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!