Developing Blockchain applications for social good
This guest post was written by Mahmud Adeleye, a web3 developer passionate about developing blockchain applications for social good. His most recent app, Gift A School kit, helped NGOs sponsor over 300 African school kids without access to essential educational materials.
As developers, our focus is often on the financial solutions blockchain technology can offer; we sometimes forget that its potential goes far beyond this.
The idea that blockchains could be used for social good is gaining popularity, and it's easy to see why. A public blockchain's key characteristics, such as transparency, and immutability, makes it an ideal tool for tackling some of the most pressing social causes, such as poverty and inequality, helping to bring about real positive change in the world.
Even if working full-time on advancing social causes aligns differently with your current financial incentives, pursuing an idea as a side or weekend project makes sense. The good news is that investments in the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) sectors are rising rapidly and are estimated to hit almost US$50 trillion by 2025.
What Do You Build?
Now that I’ve gotten your attention. What do you build? There are so many social areas you can apply your blockchain expertise, that knowing exactly where to focus might be a hassle. In this article, I will discuss four practical use cases you can build right now and provide some examples from which you can get inspiration.
1. Allocating resources efficiently and fairly to the underserved
In recent years, the issue of resource allocation to the underprivileged has become a major concern for all. With limited resources and a growing population, the need to efficiently and fairly allocate resources to those who need them most is more pressing than ever. Fortunately, blockchain-based crowdfunding, funds distribution, and donation platforms are emerging as viable solutions to this problem.
By leveraging the power of blockchain, we can equitably facilitate the efficient allocation of resources. This ensures that everyone has access to vital resources, regardless of financial circumstances.
In addition to providing equitable resource distribution, blockchain-based crowdfunding and donation platforms offer greater transparency and accountability, ensuring that funds are not misused or stolen.
Finally, blockchain-based crowdfunding and donation platforms can help significantly reduce administrative and transaction costs allowing organizations to focus more on helping those in need rather than on administrative tasks and transaction fees.
Where you come in:
There are many ways you can contribute here. For example, you can create a donation platform where crypto natives can donate their digital assets to a particular cause they’re passionate about.
I did this when I built Gift A School kit that allowed people to donate to NGOs in Africa, providing essential school materials to school kids. You can even make one for that cat shelter you love. All you need is a landing page with basic wallet connection and transaction functionalities using ethers.js or Solana Pay, for example.
For inspiration, you can also check out the Ten NFT Projects and Collectives Disrupting Social Impact list.
2. Encouraging civic engagement through blockchain-based systems that are secure and transparent.
The way individuals interact with their government has shifted dramatically in recent years. From protests and lobby groups to online petitions and social media campaigns, many people are now turning to technology for a faster and more efficient way to make their voices heard.
Blockchain-based systems can become powerful tools for increasing civic engagement, providing citizens with a secure and transparent platform to make their voices heard. All data is stored in an open, distributed public ledger, making it easy for everyone to follow, track and verify. As a result, contributors can have confidence that their opinions are securely recorded and stored and that their views are accurately represented without tampering.
Where you come in:
You can build a social web3 polling platform, a decentralized blogging platform, or a niche Twitter-like app for a cause you believe in. You can also create a public tracker that promotes transparency in the way entities in the public and non-profit sectors deploy funds. Feel free to test the waters by participating in this web3 decentralized social Hackathon.
3. Funding research for diseases and health conditions.
The healthcare industry is ever-evolving and is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to fund research for diseases and health conditions. An exciting development worth exploring is the introduction of token-based donations and investments.
Token-based donations and investments can provide a new way for individuals, charities, investors, and businesses to donate or invest in research for diseases and health conditions. Allowing donors and investors to make smaller, more frequent token-based donations and investments can help to drive more money into medical research and treatments. This is especially beneficial for smaller charities or research centers, which often struggle to secure the necessary funds from traditional sources to improve the lives of those affected by uncommon diseases and health conditions.
Where you come in:
A project idea worth giving a shot can be transplanting the success of Gitcoin grants in funding distributed and open-source software projects into the healthcare system. It can even be for a niche health issue like Mental Health, just like these crypto projects did. You can also check this list if you want more inspiration.
4. Providing access to financial services, such as microloans and remittances, to those in developing countries.
As blockchain developers, we should be passionate about building solutions that fulfill blockchain’s core ethos - making financial services more accessible. Services, such as microloans and remittances, to those in developing countries, are critical for those without access to traditional banking infrastructure to get much-needed living funds making their lives easier. It can also support local small businesses with limited capital to help them start or expand businesses, buy equipment, or pay for other necessary expenses. This could help people become self-sufficient, create more jobs, boost economic growth and stability, and reduce poverty.
The World Bank reported that the global remittance market was worth $773 billion in 2021, with most of the money coming from developed countries. In fact, remittances from developed countries to developing countries are three times larger than the amount of global development aid. This highlights the importance of remittances for developing countries, as it helps them bridge the gap between their income and the cost of living.
Where you come in:
Opportunities to make a difference abound here. For example, you can build a remittance platform with transparent fees for a particular country, region, or continent. Sending money to those in need back home can cost as high as 6.5% in transaction fees when using traditional platforms like Moneygram or Western Union. A low-cost platform on top of a solid stablecoin infrastructure to power these transfers can be hugely successful.
You can even explore building a microfinancing platform that provides micro-loans to single mothers who want to start small-scale businesses.
If you need more inspiration, check out this list of crypto projects serving the unbanked.
Conclusion
As a developer in the crypto space, I have seen firsthand the incredible power of this technology to drive positive change.
Transparent, low-cost blockchain-based solutions targeting a wide range of social issues like Agriculture, energy, identity, water, and other essential life services can be transformational.
The opportunities are boundless! Ultimately, we can make a real impact in the world by using our skills and expertise to develop blockchain applications for social good.
Bear markets are for building.
This guest post was written by Mahmud Adeleye, a web3 developer passionate about developing blockchain applications for social good. His most recent app, Gift A School kit, helped NGOs sponsor over 300 African school kids without access to essential educational materials.
