Yunus & Youth, IOV Foundation, and Globant unite to contribute to global sustainable development

Thanks to the use of blockchain technology, Yunus & Youth and the IOV Foundation strengthened the work of social entrepreneurs committed to helping in their communities. Through AGUA, the transparency platform developed by Globant and partially funded by IOV Labs and Unicef Innovation, the beneficiaries of this project received financial support to achieve their impact objectives.

In order to facilitate and provide tools that contribute to social and environmental impact, Yunus & Youth and the IOV Foundation joined forces to bring blockchain technology to impact communities as a powerful and effective tool that enhances efficiency in the sending and receiving of funds, their traceability, and transparency throughout the process.

Thanks to the partnership between Yunus & Youth and the IOV Foundation, social entrepreneurs from around the world received their first cryptocurrencies through a call that involved granting cryptocurrencies to a group of Y&Y network entrepreneurs who presented feasible projects, selected to participate in non-refundable funds and to be able to track the use and destination of the funds.

“The alliance with the IOV Foundation and with the AGUA platform from Globant came about organically when we realized that we share a common vision. The IOV Foundation has been developing and supporting blockchain technology applications for years to improve people’s lives. Yunus & Youth leads a global community of social entrepreneurs working on issues that enhance access to the financial, educational, and health systems, among others. With the complementarity of our organizations, we managed to pilot using AGUA, which allowed us to invest in social entrepreneurs from our global network with a higher level of transparency than traditional banking methods allow,” said Cecilia Chapiro, Executive Director of Yunus & Youth.

Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar, President of IOVF, highlighted that this partnership with Y&Y “has been a further step in our mission to help organizations multiply their impact. Thanks to the maturity of the tools we have been developing, today we can reduce costs, increase transparency, and ensure that available capital reaches those who need it most to improve their living conditions. To put Blockchain at the service of social needs, Yunus & Youth has been the key ally, not only because of its track record in the sector but also because it is an organization that shares the values we seek in our partners: innovation, courage, and commitment.”

“AGUA is the result of over 4 years of learning. It is a platform adaptable to different organizations and types of projects. It also understands that project circumstances may change and that the fundamental contribution to transparency and auditability of a technology like blockchain should not come at the expense of user experience. For IOVF and Y&Y to be able to contribute the transparency framework to collaborate with each other and generate impact for entrepreneurs gives us great satisfaction,” added Marcio Degiovannini, VP Delivery at Globant and Product Manager of AGUA.

How does AGUA work?

AGUA is a platform that provides organizations with a transparent and verifiable way to demonstrate the correct use of funds. AGUA achieves this by establishing a clear structure for project definition. Each project consists of milestones and activities, and each activity is accompanied by a budget, acceptance criteria, and an assigned auditor. Once the project and its stakeholders are defined, the platform publishes it and generates an auditable version on a public blockchain.

The use of smart contracts within AGUA ensures that only authorized stakeholders of the project can perform specific actions, such as adding proof of funding, proof of expenditure or impact, as well as providing audit evidence. These actions are governed by predetermined rules set by the platform. As a result, the progress of the project depends on stakeholders fulfilling their responsibilities in accordance with the project definition and platform rules. AGUA securely generates a unique signature code for each stakeholder to sign each project event. This signature code serves as a digital signature that validates the authenticity and integrity of each event. By requiring stakeholders to sign each action they take, AGUA ensures a robust audit trail and accountability throughout the project lifecycle.

Once authorized, all events are executed and publicly recorded on the blockchain, using its decentralized nature. The decentralized nature of the blockchain ensures that information is distributed across the network, making it virtually impossible for a single entity to alter or manipulate data retroactively. This transparency allows stakeholders, auditors, and the community at large to independently reconstruct the progress and financial transactions of the project, even without relying on the original platform. The decentralized storage of information on the blockchain not only enhances security but also promotes long-term accessibility and accountability.

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