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In episode 177, we’re excited to welcome Kennedy Ng’an’ga of Shamba Network, Benson Njuguna of Fortune Credit, and Wladimir Weinbender of DIVA Donate. Together, their organizations, supported by Mercy Corps Ventures, ran a pilot that deployed blockchain-based anticipatory cash transfers to pastoralists in Kenya, using smart contracts triggered by environmental data brought onchain by an Oracle. We discuss how blockchain-powered oracles enabled real-time data monitoring, how funds were disbursed programmatically via smart contracts, how blockchain can improve impact evaluation, the broader potential for Web3 to address climate-related challenges in vulnerable communities, and much more.

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Key Takeaways

• 50 million people across sub-Saharan Africa are Pastoralists that depend on livestock for income and subsistence. In Northern Kenya, Pastoralism provides income to more than 95% of rural families. This region is also vulnerable to extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, that can significantly impact the livelihoods of Pastoralists. As such, it’s important to build solutions that help Pastoralists adapt to climate shocks.
• Anticipatory cash transfers are a powerful tool for communities that are vulnerable to climate change. By proactively issuing cash transfers in advance of climate shocks, as opposed to reactively, it enables recipients to use the funds to prepare for the climate shock, including purchasing food or protecting their livestock. Anticipatory cash transfers are a vital tool for building climate resilient communities by ensuring a more stable income for pastoralists in spite of an increasing number of climate shocks.
• This Pilot demonstrates how blockchain and crypto rails can reduce the cost of delivering funds to recipients by cutting out intermediaries and automating processes with smart contracts, while also reducing the time to transfer the funds from days to hours. Furthermore, by bringing all the data on-chain, it ensures easy auditability of all transactions.

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Follow Kennedy, Wladimir, & Benson

Twitter - Kennedy

Twitter - Wladimir

Twitter - Benson

Shamba Network

Diva Donate

Fortune Credit

Pilot Project Final Report

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Episode Time Stamps:

02:55 - To kick things off, can you tell me more about yourself and the mission of the organization you’re working with?

07:10 - To lay the groundwork for the conversation, could you please give an overview of Eastern & Sub-Saharan Africa, and some of the challenges Pastoralists face?

10:40 - Can you give an intro to your Pilot Project: Anticipatory Cash Transfers for Climate Shocks, and how it addresses the challenges you mentioned?

16:05 - What are your key hypotheses for the pilot?

19:05 - What were the key findings that emerged from the pilot? Were there any surprises?

24:30 - Tell me more about how you onboarded participants and supported them with off-ramping funds.

34:00 - Tell me more about the use of Oracles and how the data collected is analyzed.

39:50 - Why did you decide to leverage Web3 technology for this pilot?

47:35 - Were there any stories of impact from the pilot that you’d like to share?

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