Why did we select this case
Blockchain for Change shows the potential of using block chain through their smart phone and app: Fummi, to help homeless people in New York access essential resources and services at discounted prices. Most importantly, it allows homeless people to attain a digital identity making access to bank accounts, loans, and government services easier.
About the case
Recognising that more than 60,000 people spend the night in shelters in New York with no digital identities. Blockchain for Change has two main aims. Firstly it means to provide homeless people with essential services at a discounted price, where the app has an internal ecosystem for payments, and services mining costs. Secondly, it intends to help service providers (private and public) to connect more efficiently with the homeless.
“The ultimate goal is to create a store of value for people, so they can mitigate some of the savings and income volatility that [follows] this demographic." (Calvin Bradley)
Blockchain for Change collaborated with Life Wireless, to provide phones to low-income groups using federal subsidies. and NYC service providers, to create blockchain identities for individuals. While Blockchain for Change first step is its New York pilot, by the end of the second quarter of 2018, they aspire to have distributed 200,000 Fummi-enabled phones.
