IBM Teams Up With NGO Global Citizen to Develop Blockchain Platform For Charity Purpose

Tech giant IBM has been long associated with developing several blockchain projects, but this time the company has joined hands with NGO group Global Citizen for developing a blockchain platform for humanitarian and charity purpose, the company said in a blog announcement of Friday, May 11.

Inspired by the United Nations' Envision 2030 initiative, the tech giant has participated in an anti-poverty campaign called “Challenge Accepted” wherein the developers will be using IBM's Blockchain Platform Starter Plan to build a blockchain network covering all aspects of the donation process.

IBM says that one of the major challenges of charity organizations is the effective utilization of funds The press release notes that If we are going to solve societal issues such as extreme poverty or infectious disease, we need to make sure that every cause is getting the money they were promised, especially from the world’s most impactful donor group: federal governments.”

Under the “Challenge Accepted” contest, developers have been asked to build a three-member network on the IBM blockchain platform wherein the fund transfers and cause-specific donations can be made by the government, registered with aid organizations, and can be further validated by Global Citizen.

Co-Founder of Global Citizen, Simon Moss in a blog post said that the blockchain technology holds the potential to change the way charity is done. He wrote that the blockchain technology will play a very crucial role in the transparency of fund allocation providing a very safe and secure platform.

Sion said: "Blockchain can provide clarity on not only who is donating, but how money and supplies flow through organizations that provide aid - such as tracking a gallon of water purchased by an organization to the location where it was delivered.”

The lead of product management for IBM Blockchain platform - Kathryn Harrison said that the company decided on this initiative during internal conversations about the "opportunities to use this technology in areas that we can do some pretty substantial social good.”

The “Challenge Accepted” campaign running from May 15 to July 14 is a larger part of the work done by IBM on the blockchain front. Harrison said: "We're focused on so many different types of use cases. We look at food safety, we look at microfinance, we look things like the environment and carbon credits and energy savings. And this just seems like another opportunity to empower developers to put their skills to use for good."