The news:
- Nigerian blockchain company Convexity is among the companies that will be pitching at the Circle's solutions pitch competition event.
- The event is an inaugural pitch competition by Circle that aims to showcase tools that enable rapid humanitarian aid or tackle one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
- Convexity will be pitching its humanitarian aid tool, CHATS, to judges from BlackRock, UN, and Circle for a $100 thousand investment.
Nigerian blockchain solutions company Convexity will be pitching its humanitarian aid solution, CHATS, at the headquarters of a $10 trillion asset management firm, BlackRock, in New York, USA.
CHATS, which stands for Convexity's humanitarian aid transfer solution, is a solution that helps NGOs track the disbursement of aid in Africa.
Co-founder of Convexity, Adedeji Owonibii, and his team came up with CHATS after they discovered the number of fraudulent activities that impede aid distribution in Africa.
Aid in Africa has been largely misappropriated. The continent has received $1.2 trillion in aid since 1960, however, these funds have had no visible impact on the continent.
CHATS is currently backed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and has received a grant from the UN body.
On a call with Techpoint Africa, Uyoyo Ogedegbe, Convexity's Investment and Business Development Partner, said CHATS qualified for the pitch because it solves key problems Circle's solutions pitch competition event was looking out for.
"The core themes we hit on were financial inclusion, transparency, technology, and aid distribution."
CHATS aid distribution solution utilises blockchain technology to ensure transparency. Donors can track the disbursement of their donations from NGOs down to every aid beneficiary.
For the distribution of aid to individuals who aren't financially included, CHATS has options such as the SMS token option that enables beneficiaries to redeem their funds.
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Circle's solution pitch competition event
Convexity is one of six companies that will be pitching their solution at Circle's solution pitch competition event. Other finalists in the competition include Lithuania-based Ebioro which focuses on the development of products and services that help people become financially independent.
Similar to Convexity's CHATS, HesabPay's solution is geared towards tackling the UN's zero poverty SDG goal. It does this by sending aid payments directly to beneficiaries in hard-to-reach areas with a focus on traceability and speed.
These companies will be pitching their solution to Judges such as Sunita Grote, Lead and UNICEF Ventures Co-founder, Robbie Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, and Circle's Chief Strategy and Policy Officer, Dante Disparte.
While Ogedegbe is not certain if one (the winner) or all the companies will be receiving a $100 thousand investment, he points out that the competition is an opportunity to reach global investors.
