UNDP AltFinLab

💡 Over the past few months, UNDP AltFinLab has been collaborating with Stellar Development Foundation to examine how blockchain technology could benefit some of the world's most complex financial contexts. Focusing on digital payments solutions, the work covers 17 countries across three regions. Each country now has an in-depth assessment of its payment landscape, its blockchain readiness and where UNDP programming could benefit from digital rails. ✨ Against this setting, with Shyam Patel and Tori Samples from the Stellar Development Foundation, we organized a regional session and presented these findings to colleagues from LAC; PNUD El Salvador, UNDP Guyana, PNUD Uruguay, and Guatemala. The discussion covered areas where cash still dominates daily transactions, regions where digital use is increasing, and how pilots can transform research into action. As Enrique Crespo Peñaherrera noted, "Structural gaps in technology have amplified inequality", offering a reminder to match ambition with practical design. The session covered: 🔹 Country snapshots that link demand signals to concrete next steps. 🔹 Five adaptable use cases: direct cash assistance, payroll, remittances, anticipatory finance and tokenization. 🔹 The pilot pathway: identification, technical assessment, design, implementation and evaluation, with readiness gates and policy checks. 🔹 Ecosystem support: wallets, on- and off-ramps, and monitoring tools to track results. 🔹 The way forward and opportunities for collaboration with other Country Offices in the region. 🌟 With this foundation in place, the LAC stream will now move from shared insight to country-level design, using the pathway presented. Updates will follow as pilots take shape with Country Offices. Ali Al-Zuhairi, Cynthia Khoury, Chiara Laffi, Manal Humedin, Robert Pasicko, Asem Al-Hammadi

🚀 Yesterday at the Blockchain Impact Forum, 10 amazing teams pitched their bold solutions to real challenges during the #SDGBlockchainAccelerator Showcase. CONGRATULATIONS to our winning teams for turning innovation into impact and thank-you to our judges and partners for championing public interest innovation.    Partner awards:  🏆 Residency access and investment opportunities from Draper University Plastiks    🏆 Grant from GSR Foundation GeniusTags    🏆 Grants, mentorship and visibility from Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) GeniusTags, Plastiks and zenGate Global    🏆 Media grants from Cointelegraph 1) Plastiks, 2) zenGate Global, 3) Coala Pay    🏆 Mentorship and programme/membership access from Nordic Blockchain Association 1) Cladfy Inc. (Techstars '22), 2) zenGate Global, 3) Coala Pay. Plus: All Showcase teams will receive two tickets to the Nordic Blockchain Conference 2026... 🙏 Huge appreciation to our co-organizer Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA); to our SDG Blockchain Accelerator partners: EMURGO Labs, Cardano Foundation with Project Catalyst, Stellar Development Foundation, FLock.io and Sui Foundation; to our Showcase partners Cointelegraph, Nordic Blockchain Association, GSR Foundation, and Draper University; and to every team that took the stage.

👏 In Copenhagen, innovators from around the world took the stage for the SDG Blockchain Accelerator Showcase, launching Day 2 of the Blockchain Impact Forum with bold ideas and real-world impact.    Ten teams presented their pilots developed with UNDP Country Offices, showing how blockchain can be applied to real challenges – from carbon registries and energy ledgers to digital IDs, traceable waste systems, and inclusive financial tools. Each solution demonstrated the power of technology to make development systems more transparent, accountable, and effective.    Co-organized by UNDP’s AltFinLab and the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA), in collaboration with Cointelegraph, Nordic Blockchain Association, GSR Foundation, and Draper University, the showcase marked another step in building a global ecosystem for blockchain for sustainable development.    🏆 The teams will return home not only with recognition, but also with tangible opportunities: incubation and mentorship, equity-free support, financial awards, investor exposure, and media visibility.    Thank you to all innovators and partners who took part — and to everyone who joined us in Copenhagen. Stay tuned for the announcement of the awards! 📣 🥳 Congratulations to all the pitching teams: Cladfy Inc. (Techstars '22) x UNDP Bangladesh; Plastiks x UNDP in Armenia; Coala Pay x United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) HQ x UNDP South Sudan; Thallo x UNDP Tanzania; University of Cambridge / FLock.io x UNDP Dominican Republic / PNUD en América Latina y el Caribe; zenGate Global x UNDP Bangladesh; Grinplus (AegisGrid) x UNDP Tanzania; Wholechain x UNDP North Macedonia; KarbonLedger (Konma Org) x UNDP in India; GeniusTags x UNDP Malawi.

🌐 It was a full house at UN City Copenhagen today! More than 200 participants leaned into “Chains of Change” as we opened the Blockchain Impact Forum; a cross-sector catalyst bringing together UN colleagues, policymakers, protocol leaders, founders and researchers to align blockchain with public mandates and real-world impact.  Across keynotes and panels we moved from emerging needs and shared opportunities to cross-border governance and into the UNDP Government Blockchain Academy – all with the shared goal of translating experimentation into scalable public-good infrastructure.    ✨ Highlights from the room included: 🔹 Institutions and builders mapping where blockchain already delivers public value, and where collaboration is still needed to unlock it.  🔹 Inclusion, transparency, and accountability emerged as non-negotiable requirements for systems-level adoption.  🔹 The #SDGBlockchainAccelerator featured as a key spotlight, demonstrating how UNDP country offices are scaling blockchain solutions across regions and sectors. Thank you to our partner and co-organizer Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA).  Thank you to everyone who contributed, both on and off stage. Your energy and the conversations sparked in the corridors are exactly why this forum took place!

⚡ The energy from the Blockchain Impact Forum, co-organized with the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA), is vibrant, with today’s discussions laying out the groundwork for system-level collaboration.    Tomorrow, we move from policy to practice. We kick off the morning with the SDG Blockchain Accelerator Showcase, bringing 10 leading teams to the stage to pitch their pilots and real-world applications across climate action, financial inclusion, digital identity, humanitarian delivery and transparent governance.     ✨ Throughout the day, teams will connect with partners and investors, culminating in the SDG Blockchain Accelerator Awards! Thanks to our amazing partners, the winning teams stand to gain:     🔹 Direct pathways into incubation, equity-free support, tailored mentorship and ecosystem visibility – Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA). 🔹 Financial awards and potential follow-on support – GSR Foundation.  🔹 Fast-track consideration for founder training, 1:1 mentoring, investor exposure and access to the Draper network – Draper University.  🔹 Conference access, association membership opportunities, and an investor pitch & strategy track – Nordic Blockchain Association  🔹 Media visibility grants and global storytelling to reach new users, partners and investors – Cointelegraph. 👉️ Join us tomorrow in Copenhagen: https://luma.com/53alqfc4 

✨ Meet the judging panel for the #SDGBlockchainAccelerator Showcase to take place during the Blockchain Impact Forum, organized in collaboration with Blockchain for Good Alliance!    Leaders from our partner network will assess the pitches on impact for the SDGs, scale readiness, technical feasibility, innovation and team capability: 🔹 Chris Joannou, VP, Venture Ecosystem, Draper University  🔹 Glenn Tan, Director of Global Affairs, Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA)  🔹 Jakob Mikkel Hansen, CEO, Nordic Blockchain Association  🔹 James Newell, Executive Director, GSR Foundation   🔹 Paul K., Web3 Business Director, Cointelegraph    Judging will take place following the live pitches on 5 November, with awards announced later in the day. Join us in Copenhagen to connect with innovators, investors and partners driving blockchain’s public good use cases.    📍 Færgehavnsvej 35, 2150 Nordhavn, Denmark  👉 Secure your seat: https://luma.com/53alqfc4

🌟 In Copenhagen, November 5th, Day 2 of the Blockchain Impact Forum will open with the #SDGBlockchainAccelerator Showcase, co-organized with Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) in collaboration with Cointelegraph, Nordic Blockchain Association, GSR Foundation, Draper University, where the top 10 pilots from the Accelerator’s cohorts will present their solutions. 💡   🔹 Cladfy Inc. (Techstars '22) x UNDP Bangladesh  Fund disbursement with digital IDs & smart contracts 🔹 Plastiks x UNDP in Armenia   Waste traceability & verified plastic credits    🔹 Coala Pay x United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) HQ / UNDP South Sudan  Smart-contract guarantees & last-mile disbursements with offline/online access  🔹 Thallo x UNDP Tanzania  National carbon registry & marketplace    🔹 University of Cambridge / FLock.io x UNDP Dominican Republic /  PNUD en América Latina y el Caribe  Unified inclusive-finance stack for LAC: parametric insurance, gender-responsive credit, micro-savings     🔹 zenGate Global x UNDP Bangladesh  APIs to anchor verified data on-chain 🔹 Grinplus (AegisGrid) x UNDP Tanzania  National energy ledger for real-time monitoring & fraud detection 🔹 Wholechain x UNDP North Macedonia   Traceability across energy & agri value chains  🔹 KarbonLedger (Konma Org) x UNDP in India  IoT + AI monitoring for tamper-proof environmental compliance 🔹 GeniusTags x UNDP Malawi  Verification integrated with UBR for inclusive social protection delivery   If you’re in Copenhagen, register and catch them live on 5 November (09:50–11:20 CET), and meet the teams to explore partnerships and investment. 👇  https://luma.com/53alqfc4

The 2025 SDG Blockchain Hackathon brought together +50 teams of UN experts and blockchain innovators to co-design roadmaps for real-world solutions for sustainable development. 🌍 Over two weeks, they worked on ideas ranging from blockchain-enabled carbon markets and tools for transparent public finance, to digital identity systems improving access to social services, and waste traceability platforms supporting circular economy models. ♻️ Some explored new ways to channel climate finance to local communities, while others built prototypes for tokenized biodiversity credits or more efficient humanitarian aid delivery. The hackathon showed how collaboration between builders and problem-owners can unlock innovations that advance the SDGs. 💡 🔗 Explore outcomes and insights: https://lnkd.in/dDeNfSXV Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) EMURGO Labs Cardano Foundation Project Catalyst FLock.io Stellar Development Foundation Sui Foundation #SDGBlockchainAccelerator

🌍 Discover Blockchain Solutions Driving Global Impact 🙌 On 5 November, join us for the SDG Blockchain Accelerator Showcase – part of the Blockchain Impact Forum 2025 in Copenhagen. The Showcase will feature the top-performing teams from the SDG Blockchain Accelerator, presenting real-world blockchain applications that tackle challenges in areas such as climate action, humanitarian aid, digital identity, financial inclusion, and governance. Co-hosted by UNDP’s Alternative Finance Lab and the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA), in collaboration with Cointelegraph, Nordic Blockchain Association, GSR Foundation, and Draper University, this session brings together innovators, investors, and policymakers shaping the next wave of blockchain for the SDGs. 🎟️ Register now to attend: https://luma.com/53alqfc4 

🥇 We’re thrilled to announce that 37 pioneering teams have been selected to join Cohort 2 of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator, following the recent global hackathon sprint: https://bit.ly/4n9U3y7 Over the coming four months, these teams will be supported with expert mentorship, hands-on technical guidance, workshops, and access to funding and networks – all to help them pilot and scale blockchain-enabled solutions that address the world’s most urgent sustainable development challenges. 💪 🙌 From climate finance and carbon markets, to public sector transparency, humanitarian aid delivery, digital identity, and inclusive financial services – the diversity of ideas emerging from this process underscores blockchain’s potential for impact. This initiative is strategically led by UNDP’s Alternative Finance Lab in partnership with the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA), EMURGO Labs, FLock.io, Stellar Development Foundation and Sui Foundation – with catalytic funding from the Cardano Community Treasury via Project Catalyst, with support from other partners. Stay tuned to hear more about their solutions!