Category: Digital transformation and emerging tech

Following the Istanbul Innovation Days held in March 2025, we are releasing a series of articles capturing key insights, bold ideas and solutions that emerged from the conversations on institutional innovation. From reimagining partnerships to leveraging frontier technologies, these stories showcase opportunities to rethink and transform institutional paradigms.

In our previous blog, “Reimagining Institutions in the Age of AI Agents,” we explored how AI agents are poised to reshape public institutions through enhanced efficiency, adaptive decision-making, and novel governance practices inspired by our workshop at Istanbul Innovation Days. Building on those insights, today we dive deeper into the existential challenge of integrating AI into everyday decision-making and the careful balance needed between technological precision and the human touch.

The integration of agentic AI into our daily lives poses both a technical upgrade and an existential challenge—one that forces us to rethink how we build, govern, and experience our collective life. As we strive for greater efficiency, consistency, and scalability, we confront a new tension that needs to be resolved: AI excels at processing patterns and data, yet it remains fundamentally detached from the lived experiences that shape human judgment with nuance and meaning.

Institutions have always relied on human judgment — a mix  of cultural understanding, personal experience, and intuitive context. Today’s bureaucracies often struggle under the weight of inefficiencies and outdated structures. AI promises a remedy by automating routine decisions, standardizing processes, and delivering speed unimaginable in the past. However, this efficiency comes at a price. When an AI system processes a building permit or screens a loan application, it might deliver rapid, consistent outcomes, but it also risks erasing the subtle human insights that arise from community interactions and local knowledge.

This tension isn’t abstract. It permeates the very way we make collective decisions. For instance, in our current systems, a slow, deliberative process can foster community dialogue and preserve diverse perspectives. Yet, when algorithms streamline these processes, they may unintentionally enforce consensus, much like AI models that default to prevailing narratives, sidelining nuance and dissent. In other words, while AI can democratize information and speed up operations, it might also homogenize vision—transforming our institutions into efficient yet soulless mechanisms.

Prospecting the challenges above into the future, we suggest two provocative scenarios to reframe our understanding of institutional future. Ultimately, these thought experiments aim to spark imagination and thinking on implications of AI beyond productivity advancements. 

How Might the Future Unfold? 

Scenario 1: AI-Driven Bureaucracy

Imagine a future where a building permit application, once a forum for nuanced local negotiations, is processed entirely by an AI system. Efficiency soars as decisions are rendered within minutes, yet the subtle community interactions and local expertise diminish. This scenario encapsulates the promise of streamlined, data-driven governance and the existential challenge of preserving the rich human insights that traditional bureaucracy once provided.

Scenario 2: Personalized Regulation

Imagine a society where rules and regulations are no longer uniform but dynamically tailored to each individual. Here, AI systems continuously adjust service delivery in real time, basing decisions on personal histories and local contexts gathered through immersive narrative platforms. While this hyper-personalization promises fairness and responsiveness, it also raises concerns over the erosion of shared civic norms and the risk of fragmenting community experience into isolated, algorithmically defined profiles.

These speculative scenarios compel us to reimagine institutional design. Such visions raise critical questions: Who is accountable when an AI-mediated decision goes wrong? How do we prevent the centralization of power in those who control the algorithms? And, most importantly, how do we maintain a vibrant democratic process that values dissent as much as consensus?

We must develop new models that balance the speed and precision of AI with mechanisms that preserve human creativity, contextual understanding, and, ultimately, our agency. This leads us to suggest three guiding institutional design values:

1. Sense-Making Requires Lived Experience: Authentic understanding and decision-making emerge from the richness of human experience—something that raw data alone cannot provide.
   
2. Creative Dissidence is essential for Growth: Societal progress depends on the diversity of ideas—creative dissidence challenges uniformity, stimulates innovation, and ensures that institutions evolve rather than stagnate.
   
3. Collective Leadership and Accountability: Leadership in the algorithmic age must be based on collective stewardship—where trust emerges from transparent processes, shared responsibility, and participatory oversight. When technology reshapes decision-making, communities must develop new practices of distributed authority that preserve accountability, while relying both on technological capabilities and diverse human wisdom.

Conclusion

The integration of AI into our institutional frameworks is more than a technological evolution—it requires reimagining of our social contracts. To navigate this transformation, we must use AI’s potential without sacrificing the human elements that give our institutions meaning. By embracing these three principles, we can strive toward a future where technology and humanity not only coexist but mutually enrich one another, paving the way for institutions that truly serve human flourishing.

Following the Istanbul Innovation Days held in March 2025, we are releasing a series of articles capturing key insights, bold ideas and solutions that emerged from the conversations on institutional innovation. From reimagining partnerships to leveraging frontier technologies, these stories showcase opportunities to rethink and transform institutional paradigms.

We all know that our institutions are too siloed, too analogue, and too inflexible for the polycrisis we face. What’s more, they struggle with challenges that don’t fit neatly into existing ministries and agencies. In the age of AI, if we’re serious about building and redesigning institutions, we need to understand how AI will allow us to reshape institutional capabilities in government. Given recent advances in development and adoption, the question isn’t whether to integrate AI, but how to do so while preserving human agency and democratic values. This is what our workshop on AI agents at this year’s Istanbul Innovation Days was all about.

The Paradigm Shift: From Bureaucratic to Agentic 

The transformation ahead is profound. The Global Government Technology Centre describes it as the “Agentic State“: a shift in governance as fundamental as the invention of the bureaucratic state in the 19th century. Where bureaucracy brought standardization and process, the agentic state will, according to the authors, be driven by outcomes, not process; customized and personalized, not consistent and formulaic; real-time, not predictable.

Our hands-on workshop began with a live demonstration of current agentic AI capabilities. We showed how an AI agent would perform on a typical bureaucratic task: reviewing candidate CVs against job requirements. With just basic file operations, the agent independently read (mock) applications, compared qualifications, and produced structured summaries. This work typically consumes hours of human effort. And this is not just about simple automation, but intelligent task completion that understands context and adapts to variations.

Learning from Hypothetical Institutions

To explore the potential of AI agents for institutional innovation, participants worked with six hypothetical institutional scenarios during the workshop: an Electoral Commission, an Association of Small Municipalities, a Driver’s License Service Center, Libraries and Archives Department, Emergency Medical Services Coordination Center, and a State Pension Fund. Each scenario represented common institutional challenges that transcend national boundaries.

In small groups, workshop participants studied these fictional institutions and mapped out potential futures where AI agents could address specific institutional challenges. This allowed us to explore possibilities without the constraints of existing bureaucratic structures or political sensitivities. The insights that emerged revealed patterns applicable across different institutional contexts:

1. From Silos to Intelligent Orchestration

Every hypothetical institution faced the same core challenge: fragmentation. The fictional Electoral Commission couldn’t connect voter data systems. The Emergency Services scenario involved multiple agencies unable to synthesize information during crises. The Small Municipalities example showed towns duplicating efforts their neighbors had already solved.

AI agents might help with navigating this complexity through what the UK government refers to as “orchestration” and “choreography”. Agents could serve as connectors, translating between department languages, identifying patterns across siloed databases, and surfacing relevant precedents from institutional memory. 

2. Building Trust Through Radical Transparency

Citizens increasingly see institutions as arbitrary black boxes. The institutional scenarios we used in the workshop highlighted how AI agents might help provide consistent levels of service and decision-making through standardized processes that treat every citizen the same while maintaining flexibility for edge cases.

For example, when AI agents might be used to explain why a permit was denied or how a benefit was calculated, it can make the institutional logic behind that decision visible and therefore contestable. This transparency becomes especially critical as institutions face new pressures like misinformation threats. Clear, consistent, explainable decisions might even help rebuild trust in government.

3. Transforming for the Agentic Attention Economy

The hypothetical Libraries and Archives Department scenario revealed another universal problem: institutions drowning in their own information. Reports gather dust, precedents are forgotten, and knowledge walks out the door with retiring employees.

AI agents could transform institutions from passive repositories to active knowledge brokers. They wouldn’t just store and retrieve information, but actively synthesize and translate knowledge across contexts. This could become essential for institutions trying to adapt quickly to new challenges by learning from past responses.

Critical Challenges for Institutions

These opportunities align well with IID’s focus on building resilient institutions for an uncertain world. But they also raise fundamental challenges that demand careful consideration:

1. The Accountability Paradox

Workshop participants repeatedly voiced a central tension: “AI should be about simplifying our work but not about putting responsibility away.” As institutions delegate complex tasks to AI agents, accountability becomes murky. Who takes responsibility when things go wrong? How do we maintain democratic oversight? To address this governance challenge we need new frameworks for human-AI collaboration with clear boundaries about which decisions require human judgment, audit trails for AI actions, and mechanisms for citizens to contest automated decisions.

2. Preserving Human Agency

The efficiency gains from AI agents are seductive, especially when institutions face pressure to do more with less. But as the UNDP’s 2025 Human Development Report emphasizes, we must go beyond focusing exclusively on AI for automation. AI’s potential is best leveraged to augment human strengths and judgement, rather than replace them. We must guard against creating institutions that only focus on processing speed. Technology should handle routine complexity while humans focus on the exceptions, ethics, and empathy that define meaningful public service.

3. Expanding Who Gets Heard

AI agents could help institutions consider perspectives they currently overlook. Environmental impacts, future generations, or communities without direct representation could all gain a voice through properly trained agents. But who decides which perspectives to include? How do we prevent biases from perpetuating existing inequalities? 

Design Principles for Institutional Innovation

As institutions embark on this transformation, several principles emerged from our workshop that align with IID’s broader institutional innovation agenda:

1. Maintain human authority where it matters most: AI agents should augment, not replace human judgment in high-stakes decisions.
2. Make institutional logic contestable: Citizens should understand what decisions were made, how AI systems reached conclusions, and have pathways to challenge them.
3. Transform roles, don’t just eliminate them: Focus on how AI can free humans to provide the judgment, creativity, and care that creates real institutional value.
4. Design for both humans and agents: Create structures and workflows that address human needs while allowing the integration of agents in institutional architectures. 

The Work Ahead

Early signals of institutional innovation are already emerging. Kazakhstan has created a dedicated Ministry for AI, while Albania has appointed an AI-powered assistant, as an official minister for public procurement. These experiments, whether bold or controversial, show that governments are beginning to reimagine institutional structures for the AI age.

The hypothetical institutions in our workshop may have been fictional, but the challenges they face are real and universal. Every government institution will need to grapple with how AI will reshape its capabilities and responsibilities. In doing so, governments should resist the temptation to see AI purely as a cost-cutting tool for greater efficiency through automation and instead, design systems where AI agents augment human judgment, allowing public servants to focus on what cannot be encoded: creativity, empathy, and trust-building.

At UNDP, we’re working with governments to develop AI governance frameworks and ethical guidelines, build digital infrastructure and data systems, strengthen institutional capabilities for AI adoption, and equip public servants with AI skills. This transformation isn’t about building smarter bureaucracies. It’s about creating institutions worthy of the challenges we face.

Read part two of this blog series.

For those interested in exploring these ideas further, the institutional profile cards and AI agent capability cards from our workshop are available here, and the complete workshop presentation deck is available here.

September 15, 2025 – Istanbul/London — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Exponential Science Foundation have announced a partnership to develop the Government Blockchain Academy – a new initiative designed to drive public sector innovation. The Academy will provide specialized education and implementation programs that harness blockchain, AI, and other emerging technologies to help governments drive transformative change.

The Academy aims to guide governments to find solutions to specific challenges across five main pillars, bridging the gap between education and implementation, culminating in deploying blockchain solutions to pressing development challenges.

Academy Pillars

• Inclusive Digital Finance: Advancing access to financial services through secure digital payment systems.
  
• Transparent Governance: Improving integrity and anti-corruption efforts through secure, tamper-resistant recordkeeping and digital transactions.
  
• Supply Chain Integrity: Supporting traceability and accountability in public procurement and logistics through decentralised verification.
  
• Climate Resilience: Applying blockchain-based smart contracts and digital tokens to facilitate transparent climate financing, including tracking carbon credits.
  
• Digital Identity Solutions: Providing individuals with trusted, verifiable digital credentials that enhance access to services.

The Government Blockchain Academy will officially launch its first country programs in 2026, with preparatory work, curriculum design and stakeholder engagement commencing in 2025. The formal announcement of the Government Blockchain Academy will take place during the TOKEN2049 in Singapore (1-2nd October 2025). As part of the unveiling, the initiative will host an industry roundtable, aimed at aligning protocol developers, infrastructure providers and gathering support for this global educational initiative.

“At UNDP, we are committed to institutional innovation, including creating spaces for governments to explore and test frontier technologies. The Government Blockchain Academy builds on this spirit, offering a pathway for countries to tackle complex development challenges in new ways and move from experimentation to implementation in ways that strengthen transparency, inclusion, and resilience,” Irena Cerovic, Innovation Team Leader, UNDP Europe and Central Asia.

“This is not just an educational initiative. It’s a collective blueprint for public innovation,” said Prof. Paolo Tasca, Executive Chairman of Exponential Science. “By bringing together diverse partners under one framework, we can ensure that governments have the tools and the talent they need to navigate the next wave of digital transformation.”

The Government Blockchain Academy will offer in-person workshops, online modules, and leadership forums tailored to public sector and local needs. Government participants will gain access to selected resources along with tailored incubation, expert advisory and guidance through their digital learning program.

Each government team will receive structured support—from use case identification and requirements development, to collaborating with Academy experts and industry partners—culminating in joint solution design workshops that align decision-makers and technical stakeholders to co-create scalable, high-impact blockchain initiatives that address national priorities.

The Government Blockchain Academy will function as a global hub, a space for dialogue, experimentation and learning, empowering officials to engage with frontier technologies and shape policies that reflect digital inclusion, security and sovereignty.

UNDP Armenia is in the process of starting a partnership with Plastiks to address the country’s underdeveloped recycling infrastructure by piloting a blockchain-based model that incentivizes plastic recovery through verified plastic credits. 

This collaboration is part of the inaugural SDG Blockchain Accelerator, led by the UNDP Alternative Finance Lab, Blockchain4Good Alliance, and EMURGO Labs, joined now also by the FLock Technology Holdings and Stellar Development Foundation. The Accelerator is made possible through catalytic funding from the Cardano treasury, through Project Catalyst, alongside other partner contributions.

In a three-month co-design phase, Plastiks will prototype a solution that integrates traceability, transparency, and economic incentives. This initiative coincides with their migration to the Cardano blockchain, a strategic move that strengthens blockchain-verified impact, drives adoption, and ensures long-term scalability for plastic recovery ecosystems. 

By introducing verified plastic credits into Armenia’s recycling ecosystem, the partnership aims to deliver measurable impact and establish a replicable model for other regions facing similar infrastructure gaps. 

The UNDP Armenia Pilot: A Model for Verified Recovery 

In two Armenian towns of 40,000 residents, Plastiks and UNDP Armenia will co-develop a pilot project that introduces verified traceability and impact certification into the local recycling ecosystem.  

The initiative will serve as a testbed for how plastic credits, each backed by evidence and anchored on blockchain, can incentivize proper waste management, engage communities, and prepare the ground for future Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance. 

“This pilot will pave the way for a smarter, greener waste system in Armenia. By testing blockchain-based tools, the initiative will help create a certifiable, transparent, and traceable system that empowers local waste recovery operators with new financing opportunities, while giving the government reliable, verifiable and transparent data on recovery of plastics and other recyclables,” Nelli Minasyan, Project Coordinator, UNDP Armenia 

The pilot tackles a key challenge: the lack of verifiable recovery data. With Plastiks’ system, every action is documented, photo, GPS, timestamp, and stored immutably.  Key features of the Armenia pilot: 

• Digital Recovery Certificates (DRCs) issued for verified plastic recovery actions
   
• Plastic Credit monetization, enabling co-funding from ESG-aligned private actors
   
• Stakeholder coordination tools for producers, municipalities, and recyclers
   
• Dashboard integration for real-time compliance monitoring 

This model doesn’t just improve waste management, it creates a foundation for data-driven accountability, incentive alignment, and inclusive environmental action that can scale across regions. 

What is the SDG Blockchain Accelerator? 

The SDG Blockchain Accelerator is an initiative that aimsto fast-track blockchain solutions for real-world challenges tied to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In its first cohort, 13 global teams, each pairing a UNDP office with a blockchain innovator, co-designed systems that bring traceability and accountability to areas like: 

• Climate finance 
• Humanitarian aid 
• Renewable energy 
• Supply chains 
• Waste management 

Plastiks x UNDP Armenia is one of these pilots, developing a blockchain-based model for verifiable plastic recovery that supports future Extended Producer Responsibility policy and ESG engagement. 

This isn’t just about testing tech, it’s about setting a global standard for traceable, inclusive development. 

Scaling Compliance and Impact Through Traceability 

With EPR law adoption on the agenda, Armenia must build systems to track and enforce plastic recovery. But like many countries, it faces a gap between policy goals and technical infrastructure. 

The Plastiks x UNDP Armenia pilot aims to bridge that gap, creating a blockchain-based model that’s transparent, verifiable, and ready for national scale. 

Why it matters: 

• Supports EPR enforcement 
• Builds trust across sectors 
• Enables ESG financing via plastic credits 
• Engages communities with real incentives 

This isn’t just a local fix, it’s a replicable model for countries needing traceable, policy-aligned recovery systems. 

Why Plastiks? Proven Traceability for Plastic Recovery 

Plastiks brings a proven, globally scalable system for verified plastic recovery, already used across 20+ countries and backed by nearly 3 million kg of verified impact. 

Our solution is built on a 3-step accreditation methodology: 

1. Define impact roadmaps across social, environmental, and operational goals
    
2. Recovery entities accredited by Plastiks through financial, legal, and operational vetting
    
3. Enable blockchain tracking for each kg of recovered plastic, verified via photo, GPS, and timestamped documentation
    

“This pilot with UNDP Armenia is a milestone in showing how traceability and verified plastic recovery can reshape waste management systems. We’re not only supporting Armenia’s recycling efforts, we’re building a model that UNDP can replicate globally to accelerate the circular economy,”  Andre Vanyi-Robin, CEO & Founder of Plastiks. 

Each verified action generates a Plastic Credit, a digital certificate tied to a real recovery effort and a pre-defined impact roadmap. To further strengthen environmental alignment, Plastiks is migrating to the Cardano blockchain, known for its low energy use and high security, making it ideal for circular economy infrastructure. 

What’s Next: From Pilot to Scalable Proof of Impact 

Over the next 3 months, Plastiks and UNDP Armenia will pilot a blockchain-based system to track plastic recovery in real time, testing stakeholder onboarding, live credit issuance, and a full impact dashboard aligned with upcoming EPR laws. 

The goal? A scalable model for national EPR infrastructure that can be replicated across Armenia and beyond. 

This pilot lays the foundation for: 

• Regional expansion in Eastern Europe and Central Asia 
• ESG-aligned private financing 
• Stronger, data-backed policy frameworks 

UNDP Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab), in partnership with the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA), EMURGO Labs (with funding from Project Catalyst), Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) and Flock.io, is launching a virtual global hackathon to connect frontline development challenges with frontier blockchain technology as part of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator.

Building on the momentum of the accelerator’s first cohort, this new phase brings together UN Challenge Owners with expert Solution Makers to co-create viable roadmaps for impact. The most promising of these will be selected by mid-September to join Cohort 2 for dedicated pilot and scale-up support.

The Framework – A Sprint for Solutions

Over the course of an intensive two-week sprint, from August 25 to September 8, we will move from identifying problems to drawing the blueprints for their solutions. The initiative will pair nearly 50 UN Challenge Owners, each working on a pressing development issue, with expert Solution Makers from the forefront of the blockchain space. Put simply, matched teams progress from identifying a problem to presenting a roadmap, design, and plan to bring it to life. Together, they will:

• Frame the use case in the real-world context (users, policy, markets, data) and define what success looks like.
• Assess the necessity and added value of blockchain for the proposed solution.
• Design a feasible implementation path (timeline, resources, partners, governance) that enables the development of a strong pilot-ready solution should the project be selected for Cohort 2 of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator.

A Curated Collaboration

The hackathon is made possible through a strategic partnership between UNDP AltFinLab and key leaders from the blockchain industry. The core accelerator partners are the BGA and EMURGO Labs, joined by SDF and Flock.io. Each pairing was deliberately curated, matching the specific context of a development challenge with the most relevant technical expertise from these diverse ecosystems.

The Path to Cohort 2

Once teams are matched, the hackathon kicks off on August 25 with shared objectives, followed by thematic clinics on identity, payments and disbursements, traceability, and data governance.

The two-week sprint culminates on September 8, when each team will present a final pitch to demonstrate the viability of their proposed solution.

Standout roadmaps will move into Cohort 2 of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator for hands-on build support and piloting with UNDP and partners. Outputs are designed to be open and portable so proven models can travel across sectors, borders and chains.

For more information, please contact: 

Hajdana Imrovic  
Hackathon Lead, UNDP AltFinLab
hajdana.imrovic@undp.org  

Together with existing partners Blockchain for Good Alliance and EMURGO Labs, the initiative will pilot blockchain solutions for sustainable development.

August 19, 2025 — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is expanding its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Blockchain Accelerator with the addition of new global partners – the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) and FLock.io – joining founding partners Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) and EMURGO Labs. The expansion comes as the Accelerator prepares to launch its second cohort in September 2025, aimed at driving the adoption of blockchain technology to address global development priorities.

Led by UNDP’s Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab), the UNDP SDG Blockchain Accelerator kicked off earlier this year to identify, support, and pilot blockchain applications in areas such as climate finance, inclusive energy access, social protection, healthcare, and supply chain transparency (find out more about Cohort 1). The Accelerator is funded by BGA and Project Catalyst Fund13.

Between August and September 2025, UNDP and its partners will organize a series of global SDG Blockchain Hackathons – a two-week virtual co-creation process designed to match pressing development challenges with some of the leading blockchain developer teams around the world. Unlike traditional hackathons, this format focuses on building implementation-ready roadmaps designed to solve real-world problems at scale. It also serves as the main selection mechanism for the Accelerator’s second cohort, the next round of the four-month programme.

Each new partner brings distinct strengths to tackle developmental challenges – SDF supports the Stellar network with a mission to create equitable access to the global financial system and FLock.io, UNDP’s AI Strategic Partner, advances privacy AI solutions on blockchain. As part of their engagement, each partner will provide technical mentorship and support to selected teams throughout the hackathons and the subsequent Accelerator programme. BGA and EMURGO Labs remain anchor partners, supporting ten and seven pilots respectively, while SDF and FLock.io will each mentor five pilot projects. This partner-led support model is designed to increase the likelihood of practical deployment and long-term impact.

By combining the technical expertise of blockchain partners with UNDP’s global network and on-the-ground knowledge, the Accelerator aims to accelerate the development of scalable blockchain solutions that advance the SDGs and UNDP’s priority innovation areas – such as climate action, inclusive digital finance, and stronger governance systems.

Following the Istanbul Innovation Days held in March 2025, we are releasing a series of articles capturing key insights, bold ideas and solutions that emerged from the conversations on institutional innovation. From reimagining partnerships to leveraging frontier technologies, these stories showcase opportunities to rethink and transform institutional paradigms.

Digital payments are no longer just an emerging trend – they’re reshaping the way we think about inclusion, public finance, and service delivery. At Istanbul Innovation Days, UNDP’s Alternative Finance Lab and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a nonprofit organization that supports the growth and development of the Stellar blockchain network for accessible and inclusive financial systems, co-hosted a session to bring this transformation to life, through hands-on exploration and real life experience of how digital payments work.

During the session, we highlighted the global trends driving this change: today, nearly one billion digital wallets are in use, and stablecoin transactions have surpassed $1 trillion each month. These developments are creating new opportunities to streamline remittances, improve government-to-person payments, and unlock access to financial services in remote areas.

With around 50 participants from across governments, partners and UNDP, the session offered more than just an overview of the potential of blockchain – it was a deep dive into the rapidly evolving world of digital payments, exploring not only how decentralized technologies can transform traditional financial ecosystems, but also the current barriers such as limited infrastructure, regulatory uncertainty, and digital literacy gaps, with a huge potential to either bridge or widen financial inclusion, depending on how these challenges are addressed.

Participants learned how digital payments work and, more importantly, how they could be implemented in their own countries and projects. Through an interactive presentation and live demos, attendees got a firsthand look at how fast, secure, and low-cost digital transactions can be, especially when powered by blockchain technology.

During the breakout session, participants engaged in a live demo that put digital payments to the test. Each person set up a digital wallet and received blockchain-based funds in real time – proving that, with the right technology, payments don’t have to take months. They then used those funds to instantly donate to an NGO of their choice, demonstrating how fast, transparent, and direct digital giving can be. We demonstrated that there is no longer any need or excuse for payments to partners or beneficiaries that take months. The session sparked concrete interest from development professionals, who asked how digital wallets could be integrated into social protection programs, how tokenized payments might reduce losses, and what legal and operational steps are needed to scale such solutions responsibly.

In co-hosting this session with the SDF, we aimed to bridge the gap between emerging technology and practical development solutions, such as with TPN in Ukraine, a GIZ case study and Decaf Colombia example, a UNHCR case, and Rumsan case study. And based on the feedback and follow-up interest, it’s clear there is a strong appetite across the development sector to explore what’s next in digital finance.

This session was just one step in a growing collaboration between UNDP and SDF. Through a joint research initiative in 18 countries across regions – MENA, Latin America and Eastern Europe regions – we are assessing the opportunities and challenges of deploying digital wallets and tokenized cash assistance in real-world settings. Beyond research, our partnership is also helping us pilot projects in regions like MENA and Latin America to test how these technologies can enhance social protection schemes, climate finance, and humanitarian aid. With partners like SDF, UNDP is committed to leveraging blockchain technology as a tool to help countries build faster, more inclusive, and more resilient public services, grounded in real needs and real impact.

In Berlin, on 12-13 June 2025, the Smart Futures event convened a global community of innovators, policymakers and technologists to explore how frontier technologies – particularly blockchain and artificial intelligence – can accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Co-organized by Disruptive Elements in collaboration with UNDP and its innovation and urban transformation programmes, such as BOOST and City Experiment Fund, and supported by the Cardano Foundation, the event served as a platform for innovative dialogue and action-oriented problem-solving across domains such as smart cities, circular economy, CO₂ track and trace, industry 4.0/5.0 and digital public infrastructure.

“A digital health passport, a digital vaccine record – it’s something we in the global health space have been struggling with for years. Could blockchain help? Absolutely. In areas like procurement and data management, where accuracy, efficiency, and trust are critical, this technology could help strengthen the foundations of our health systems,” said Marina Smelyanskaya, Team Leader, HIV, Health and Development, UNDP Europe and Central Asia.

From Thought to Action

The importance of collective innovation in building equitable, tech-enabled futures was emphasised throughout Smart Futures, from keynotes and interactive panels to participatory think tank sessions. 

The event opened with strategic reflections on how emerging technologies can be harnessed for the public good, setting the stage for deeper engagement. These insights were then translated into action through hands-on sessions that explored practical applications across key areas such as Public-Private sector partnerships and the need for coordination in decentralized ecosystems.

“By the very nature of decentralised ecosystems, [the process of decision making] tends to spread far and wide, paying attention to detail, but very slowly. A minimum level of centralization around the allocation of technical and financial resources towards key verticals is valuable for decentralized ecosystems like Cardano to accelerate adoption. This is why we talk about a coordination layer for sustainability on Cardano. We’ve proven the concept with UN-affiliated proposals receiving a substantial percentage of funds disbursed out of Cardano’s annual treasury allocation in 2024. Now it’s time to scale this innovative Private Public Partnership!” noted Alexandre Maaza, Sustainability and Innovation Lead, Cardano Foundation.

Moreover, sessions dug into how blockchain-enabled traceability can make industrial emissions visible and accountable. Participants discussed how digital warehousing and blockchain can also support the green steel industry by providing transparent, mass-balanced emissions tracking.

“The concept of mass balancing, done in a trustworthy and transparent way, would be a solution. We can save the emissions in something like a digital warehouse and just give the savings to the customers who are willing to transform or to pay for them, ” said Steffen Bittner, Stahlo.

Other sessions focused on blockchain-backed skill credentials to promote inclusive, portable learning. These interactive breakouts explored the co-design of pilot initiatives and the role of Web3 in incentivising sustainable behaviours – from earning verifiable credentials for completing tasks to tokenized rewards for community contributions via platforms like Andamio, and blockchain‑verified plastic recovery through Plastiks’ digital plastic‑credit certificates that encourage responsible recycling efforts.

“What incentivizes real-world change is real-world impact. People need to benefit from the use cases first. Then you tell them, ‘Did you know what you’re using is actually built on blockchain?’ That’s the Eureka moment. Blockchain is a tool. Use it if it serves your goal. Positive change is possible through Web3; we just need the right approach, mindset and education,” said Glenn Tan, Director of Global Affairs, Blockchain for Good Alliance.

Collaboration as the Catalyst

A shared purpose and a spirit of openness guided the conversations throughout the event, underscoring what can be achieved when diverse perspectives come together to address global challenges. Rather than being framed as a technological opportunity, the convergence of blockchain and AI was presented as a pathway to greater transparency, inclusion and sustainability.

As discussions unfolded, one message echoed throughout: meaningful innovation in blockchain and AI does not happen in isolation. It thrives when blockchain protocols, private sector leaders, UN agencies, governments, policymakers and communities come together to overcome shared challenges. Collaboration, not competition, is the engine of progress. As the demand for interoperability, ethical standards and inclusive design increases, the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships becomes ever clearer. When technical innovation meets global cooperation, we can invent scalable, transparent solutions that advance sustainable development and serve the public good.

“We have a saying in Turkish: when you put your head on the pillow, do you feel good about yourself? I think we all can, if we come together. […] As UN agencies, our role is to bring everyone—even competitors—to the same table and ask: what can we solve together? Without collaboration, this technology, like everything else, won’t survive,” noted Burcu Mavis, Blockchain Academy Lead, UNDP AltFinLab.

Showcasing Impact-Driven Solutions

Beyond the panels and discussions, innovators such as Plastiks, PB Token, Green Mining DAO, Andamio, Huros, and others showcased a diverse range of impactful blockchain solutions, highlighting real-world use cases and the transformative potential of Web3 for sustainable development.

To name just a few, Plastiks is harnessing blockchain to bring transparency and accountability to the fight against plastic pollution, connecting businesses and recyclers to ensure verified plastic recovery for a circular economy. Meanwhile, Purpose Bound Token (PB Token) has introduced a new class of programmable digital tokens designed to ensure that funds are used solely for their intended purpose, unlocking new possibilities for transparent, accountable payments in areas like aid delivery, impact investing, and social finance.

But Smart Futures was more than just a showcase of emerging technology — it was a glimpse into what’s possible when innovation is grounded in purpose and driven by collaboration. As blockchain and AI continue to evolve, so must our collective commitment to ensuring these tools serve people and planet. 

The UNDP Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab), Blockchain for Good Alliance, and EMURGO Labs launched Cohort 1 of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator – a transformative initiative designed to fast-track blockchain innovations that directly address development challenges aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The selected challenge owners and solution makers represent a surge of creativity, backed by technical rigor and real-world applicability, and span critical areas such as digital identity, humanitarian aid, climate action, and supply chain transparency.

What makes this accelerator truly unique is its collaborative structure. Each team brings together a UNDP Challenge Owner, grounded in frontline development realities, and a Solution Maker, armed with frontier blockchain expertise and ready-to-scale solutions. Over the next three months, 13 paired teams in Cohort 1 will co-design, prototype, and test blockchain applications that deliver real impact, accountability, and inclusion.

To support their journey, the accelerator offers far more than technical validation. Backed by post-accelerator grant potential of up to USD $1.5 million, participants will receive intensive mentorship, access to a multi-chain development environment, expert-led workshops and entry points to the broader UN ecosystem. Through hands-on collaboration and technical deep dives, teams will sharpen their solutions and showcase them during a final pitch, setting the stage for pilot deployment and replication across other UNDP Country Offices.

Together, these 13 teams are forging a new path for how development problems are tackled. They signify a paradigm shift in the way we construct, expand and regulate solutions for sustainable development. Thanks to their expertise in humanitarian logistics, green finance, climate resilience and inclusive digital infrastructure, Cohort 1 is set to lay the groundwork for blockchain’s meaningful integration into the UN system. The grounding of these innovations is in lived realities, the informing of policy, and the designing of tangible, lasting benefits.

Ultimately, this cohort is a launchpad not only for individual teams, but also a signal to the wider development and blockchain communities that innovation cannot be confined to silos. By embracing agile, decentralised, and transparent tools within the UN system, we are redefining the way systems are built to serve people and the planet. We are here to set the standard for responsible blockchain innovation for the greater good.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the SDG Blockchain Accelerator, harnessing blockchain technology to develop, pilot, and scale innovative solutions to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

This initiative is strategically led by UNDP in collaboration with the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) and co-implemented by the UNDP AltFinLab, BGA’s Board of Advisors, and EMURGO Labs. BGA and Project Catalyst Fund13 provide funding support. 

The SDG Blockchain Accelerator leverages UNDP’s Blockchain Academy, the UN Innovation Network Blockchain Community of Practice, with affiliations to BGA’s Incubation Program, and EMURGO Labs’ technical expertise, equipping UNDP employees with the knowledge and tools needed to integrate blockchain solutions into real-world development challenges.  

“We are looking for new ways of working and technologies – to help us deal with old and new problems. Through the partnership between UNDP, BGA, and EMURGO Labs, we are thrilled to launch an accelerator program that brings together a diverse network of stakeholders. From development experts, project leaders, and ecosystem partners to blockchain developers and mentors. By leveraging expert networks, we ensure that UNDP personnel gain access to the technical guidance and resources they need to effectively implement and scale blockchain solutions for UNDP, supported governments and stakeholders,” said Teodor Petricevic, UNDP Accelerator Lead.  

The accelerator will: 

• Enhance Capacity Building: Equip early-stage blockchain projects with technical expertise and mentorship. 
• Develop Scalable Solutions: Implement pilot projects that showcase blockchain’s real-world applications in development sectors. 
• Foster Ecosystem Growth: Promote cross-chain collaboration and enhance innovation across the broader blockchain ecosystem. 

“This partnership with UNDP is a testament to our vision of leveraging blockchain to solve real-world challenges and drive sustainable progress,” said Ahmed M. Amer, CEO of EMURGO Labs. “By combining Cardano’s powerful infrastructure with UNDP’s global expertise, we aim to pioneer solutions that not only advance blockchain adoption but also contribute meaningfully to the SDGs.” 

The SDG Blockchain Accelerator is a multi-year program designed to onboard, support, and potentially fund two cohorts per year, each running for four months. The program will develop tailored curricula and educational modules, provide mentorship to project teams in implementing blockchain-based solutions, and document and share project outcomes through open-source resources. 

The accelerator in 2025 will amplify Cardano’s visibility by demonstrating its versatility in addressing SDG-focused challenges. The initiative’s interoperable and open-source framework will also encourage collaboration across blockchain platforms, driving broader ecosystem adoption. In the second iteration (starting in September 2025), the accelerator will amplify Cardano and other blockchain potential in UNDP development initiatives.  

The program aims to achieve several key impacts. Firstly, it aims to deliver up to 40 blockchain-based solutions that directly address critical SDG goals. It also plans to establish a comprehensive resource library that serves as a valuable guide for future blockchain initiatives. Finally, the program will enhance the capacity of both the UNDP network and external stakeholders to effectively develop and implement blockchain applications.  

“At the Blockchain for Good Alliance, we believe blockchain’s true potential lies in its power to drive inclusive and real-world impact. This strategic partnership with the UNDP reflects our commitment to supporting a major global programme that enhances social and public good. By uniting our initiatives and expertise with the UNDP’s mission, BGA is spearheading new pathways for blockchain to serve as a catalyst for sustainable progress through this collaboration,” said Helen Liu, Founder of the Blockchain for Good Alliance. 

This collaboration between UNDP, Blockchain for Good Alliance, and EMURGO Labs underscores blockchain’s transformative potential in sustainable development. The SDG Blockchain Accelerator invites partners, innovators, and participants to join transformative efforts to address global challenges using blockchain.  

For more information, please contact: 

Hajdana Imrovic   
Communication and Crowdfunding Analyst, UNDP AltFinLab 
hajdana.imrovic@undp.org  

About UNDP    

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries and territories, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow at @UNDP.  

About UNDP AltFinLab 

AltFinLab is a flagship UNDP initiative, pioneering alternative and innovative finance solutions. It supports UNDP, governments, civil society, and private sector partners by testing and scaling new financing mechanisms, leveraging blockchain technology, crowdfunding, impact investing, and emerging financial instruments to mobilize resources for sustainable development. 

About Blockchain for Good Alliance  

The Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) is a non-profit initiative established in 2024 by Bybit and global web3 leaders to harness the power of blockchain technology for addressing societal challenges and advancing social good. Bringing together startups, non-profits, and industry leaders, BGA focuses on driving innovation and implementing impactful solutions aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals through sponsorships, incubation programs, collaborative funding with major institutions and is behind the annual global Web3 Oscar. 

About EMURGO Labs    

EMURGO Labs is a global Web3 innovation hub specializing in blockchain solutions, real-world asset integration, and venture investments. With expertise in developing scalable, secure applications across multi-chain ecosystems, EMURGO Labs bridges the gap between Web2 and Web3 to drive sustainable growth.

The SDG Blockchain Accelerator is a global initiative designed to identify, support, and scale blockchain-powered solutions that tackle real-world development challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

If you’re a blockchain innovator with a startup or established business that can drive social impact, we want to hear from you.

What you get:

• 4-month accelerator program: Tailored training and mentorship to help you pilot and scale your blockchain solution for global development impact.
  Access to UNDP & EMURGO Labs expertise: Collaborate with UNDP’s innovation labs and technical experts from EMURGO Labs and the Blockchain for Good Alliance.
• Pilot opportunities & ecosystem exposure: Launch your solution within UNDP-supported contexts and showcase its potential for cross-sector adoption.
• Global visibility: Amplify your solution’s impact through open-source documentation and engagement with the UNDP network.
• Multi-chain support: While Cardano is a featured infrastructure, the program encourages cross-chain innovation.
• Fast-track to UN umbrella partnerships: Get insider access to piloting your solution within the UN umbrella.
• Up to USD $1.5 million in post-acceleration grants: Selected projects could receive grants in support of their solutions.

Deadline to apply: 15 May 2025

Who should apply

• Are you building blockchain-based solutions relevant to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
• Have a working MVP or pilot-ready and scalable product within, but not limited to, the following sectors:
  • Sustainable Development
  • Governance and Policy
  • Financial inclusion and digital payments
  • Supply chain and logistics
  • Digital Identity
  • Climate action
  • Decentralized finance
• Have some blockchain coding expertise?
• Are you open to collaborating with development experts and public-sector stakeholders?
• Can clearly demonstrate how their solution addresses a real UNDP challenge
• Are you committed to open-source principles and ethical innovation?

Apply before May 15, 2025 to become part of the SDG Blockchain Accelerator and make your solution count where it matters most.

Unlock the power of blockchain for sustainable development 

The SDG Blockchain Accelerator is now looking for UNDP challenges for the 2025 cohort! Led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA) and EMURGO Labs, this initiative is designed to empower innovators within the UNDP ecosystem by leveraging blockchain technology to develop, pilot, and scale impactful solutions aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

About the SDG Blockchain Accelerator 

The accelerator provides a unique opportunity for UNDP personnel, project leaders, and ecosystem partners to collaborate with blockchain experts and receive hands-on mentorship. It will offer: 

Why apply with your challenge? 

Selected teams will receive: 

• Dedicated guidance to design, build, and implement your blockchain solution effectively.
• Personalized mentorship from the UNDP AltFinLab team and top-tier external experts in blockchain, finance, and impact innovation.
• Access to potential post-acceleration funding opportunities for selected solutions developed to address UNDP global challenges.
• Free access to a full Digital MBA Program starting this summer, in collaboration with Cotrugli Business School
• Showcase your blockchain solutions at the Web3 Oscars in Amsterdam (November 2025), hosted by the Blockchain for Good Alliance (BGA)

Program timeline 

Application deadline: 29 April 2025

1^st cohort kickoff (10 UNDP teams): May 2025 

Program duration: 4 months 

Demo day & showcase during blockchain events  

Who can apply with a challenge? 

This program is open to UNDP personnel and teams working on development projects that can benefit from blockchain integration. 

How to apply?  

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED. STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Join us in harnessing blockchain technology to drive sustainable development and create lasting impact. For any questions, please contact Teodor Petricevic (teodor.petricevic@undp.org) at UNDP AltFinLab. 

We look forward to your applications! 

The SDG Blockchain Accelerator is proudly supported by UNDP, Blockchain for Good Alliance, and EMURGO Labs.