The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Europe and Central Asia is co-organizing the Blockchain4Good virtual summit on October 30-31, 2024. This event aims to explore the transformative potential of blockchain technology in strengthening international aid and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The two-day summit will bring together a diverse ecosystem of partners, including several UN agencies, nonprofits, blockchain platforms, impact investors, and innovative startups. By fostering collaboration between international development agencies and blockchain innovators, the event seeks to ignite new discussions and partnerships that can drive positive change on a global scale.
“At UNDP, we see blockchain as a game changer for sustainable development. Its capacity to provide secure, transparent, and decentralized solutions has the potential to revolutionize how we address poverty, inequality, and climate change. By working with partners across sectors, we aim to unlock blockchain’s potential to create more inclusive and resilient systems,” says Ben Thompson Coon, Analyst on CSO Community Management, UNDP Europe and Central Asia.
The summit will feature four thematic sessions exploring critical global challenges: financial inclusion, climate resilience, food security, and equitable education. Each panel will examine how blockchain solutions are currently being utilized or could be implemented to create a more equitable world.
UNDP is co-organizing the Blockchain4Good virtual summit with Innofund, a blockchain startup focused on creating solutions for international development, and Positive Blockchain, in partnership with Sustainable ADA. The summit will also feature participation from other UN agencies, including UNHCR for Switzerland, UNICEF, and FAO.
Despite global progress, 1.4 billion people remain ‘unbanked’ worldwide, often excluded from vital financial services and trapped in cycles of poverty. The climate emergency, ongoing conflicts, and depleting resources further exacerbate these conditions. Blockchain technology offers promising solutions to these challenges. It has the potential to provide secure, low-cost financial services to the unbanked, create verifiable digital identities, and make aid distribution more efficient and transparent. Additionally, blockchain can enable innovative funding mechanisms like quadratic funding, strengthen monitoring and evaluation through payment data, and improve supply chains and ownership models.
“Blockchain has the power to really change how development and humanitarian agencies work,” says Alex Macbeth, co-founder of Innofund, the company that conceived of the virtual summit. “We are confident that Blockchain4Good is the bridge that will create the necessary introductions and partnerships.”
The event will further explore how blockchain technology can be harnessed to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, and build resilience to crises and shocks. Register for the event today: https://blockchain4good.vfairs.com/.
RELATED POSTS
Environmental sustainability has become one of blockchain’s favorite talking points. Even so, carbon credits, drought insurance, climate adaptation loans, renewable energy certificates, and biodiversity finance […]
In 2025, the SDG Blockchain Accelerator delivered 46 pilot- and implementation-ready solutions, with 12 already entering real-world testing. Developed across two global cohorts, 70% of […]
By the time a product or service reaches the end user, most of the difficult work has already been done elsewhere. Someone had to collect […]
