(29 March 2018) – Several start-ups have created blockchain-based tools that are very useful for migrants, refugees and homeless people.
Founded in 2014, Bitnation is a holocratic organisation based on the Ethereum blockchain. Among its projects is Bitnation Refugee Emergency Response (BRER), a humanitarian aid programme deployed for almost three years in favour of refugees, in response to the migration crisis in Europe.
Bitnation offers two solutions: an identification system using an emergency digital identity card stored on the blockchain, presented in the form of a QR code (to enable individuals without official identity documents to cryptographically prove their existence and family relationships); and debit cards for people without a bank account.
The objective is to provide political and economic solutions to refugees. This is a mission that ExsulCoin has also given itself, by creating a platform based on the blockchain and intended for refugees. This platform will enable them to receive financial support, professional training and online language training, all though a cryptocurrency bearing the start-up’s name.
The idea is not entirely new, but it is gaining momentum. Start-ups like MONI or AID:Tech also use blockchains to offer similar identification and financial transaction solutions. A few months ago, a non-governmental organisation announced that it was about to deploy the same identification project via a blockchain to the Rohingyas fleeing violence in Burma (Rohingya Project).
In New York, Blockchain for Change has launched Fummi, an application that allows homeless people to enjoy an official identity and assert their social rights with government agencies. (Marie-Eléonore Noiré, L’Atelier BNP Paribas / translation: AEIDL)