How Blockchain Increases Development Aid & Assistance Efficiency

Both, development aid and development assistance are indispensable activities, mostly initiated in developed countries, to make the world a better place. As in other kinds of economic processes, productivity and efficiency are key success factors. At this meetup, we discuss how blockchain adds transparency, smartness and security to development aid and assistance in order to improve both.

Our first speaker is Kyriacos Koupparis, Head of Frontier Innovations, WFP Innovation Accelerator. is a native of Cyprus, born in Johannesburg and spent his adult years in the USA. He recently joined the United Nations World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator as the lead for the Frontier Innovations team. Previously, he worked for USAID in Bangkok as the senior innovation advisor for the Asia region. He has more than 10 years of development experience managing programmes to build better communities in emerging markets through science, technology, innovation and partnerships. Kyriacos will give us an intro in the Accelerator‘s work of developing innovative tools to make the World Food Programme‘s work better from day to day.

Our second speaker is Franz von Weizsäcker, Head of Blockchain Lab at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. At GIZ he is advising governments and business organizations worldwide including in Germany, Palestine and Saudi Arabia on digital strategy, digital economic policy, governmental tech, cyber security, smart cities, among others.. He is member of High Level advisory group on digitalization and sustainability to the the German Federal Ministry of Environment, as well as the G20’s think tank working group on digital economy, as well as member of the white hat hacker’s group Chaos Computer Club. Franz will tell us how the GIZ is leveraging blockchain to improve development assistance.

Our third talk will be jointly held by Claudia J. Jerger, Deputy President of the Board of Trustees, YOU Stiftung, and Jörn Leogrande, Executive Vice President for Wirecard Labs and Value Added Services. Wirecard is the global leader in online payment technology for all sales channels. Jörn is responsible for product innovations in the area of mobile payment, mobility, blockchain and analytics. Claudia, together with her mother Ute Ohoven, UNESCO Special Ambassador, runs several projects in developing countries, mostly on the African continent. Both will demonstrate how donations from individuals in the first world can be managed in a highly effective, safe and efficient way in order to help with projects in developing countries.