Polygon and Mercy Corps will work together to push the benefits of blockchain solutions in underserved communities.
The two players plan to fund blockchain pilots, conduct a series of hackathons, and run a blockchain bootcamp roadshow to spread awareness.
On Thursday, March 2, Polygon Labs, the parent firm behind Polygon blockchain, has undertaken a new initiative to accelerate the use of blockchain-based solutions for low-income individuals, the underserved, and communities in the emerging market.
To accomplish this mission, Polygon Labs has joined hands with Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV), the impact-investing arm of the global development organization Mercy Corps. Over the last eight years, Merch Corps Ventures have been investing in solutions that help underserved groups become part of the formal global economy. So far, they have supported more than 41 early-stage ventures in scaling and raising more than $335 million in follow-on capital.
Although there’s been a lot of talks over the benefits of blockchain and Web3 solutions, they haven’t really translated into something fruitful for the underbanked populations in emerging markets. Also, solutions that exist in reality lack the measure outcomes such that one can build a business case.
Polygon Labs is proud to team up with @MCSocialVenture, the impact investing arm of @mercycorps, to pilot real world use cases by providing #Web3 tools, resources, and solutions to emerging markets, to empower underserved communities.
More: https://t.co/4eNV6OeTm7
— Polygon (@0xPolygon) March 3, 2023
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Mercy Corps Ventures have been actively piloting several Web3 solutions in order to responsibly test, de-risk, and build the evidence base for promising, cutting-edge innovation. All these solutions leverage Web3 for exploring nascent areas of their thesis. They are also using Web3 to build resilience for underserved individuals and communities.
The Three Major Pillars of Partnership
The partnership of Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV) with Polygon Labs will have three major pillars:
Funding blockchain pilots to enable access to the financial system for the underserved and excluded communities. The two players will work to provide tailor-made blockchain solutions to the 1.4 billion population that’s underbanked. This will ultimately enable an inclusive and equitable global financial system.
MCV and Polygon Labs will conduct a series of blockchain hackathons with developers thereby serving emerging market users in order to increase awareness and education about how blockchain solutions can help solve local challenges.
The third pillar is running a blockchain bootcamp roadshow in all those markets where Mercy Caps has a presence. These efforts will help in providing “educational and informational sessions for local educational institutions, NGOs, and other organizations looking to improve operations through blockchain technology”.
In order to drive global financial inclusion, MCV launched the Crypto for Good Fund II last month. They will be conducting a series of pilots thereby building up evidence to prove the scalability of blockchain-based solutions and their impact on emerging markets. During the first phase of the fund launch last year, MCV has already received over 200 applications from more than 50 countries worldwide. Applications for the second round are already up until March 31st.
