Rahat: Using blockchain to improve emergency aid distribution
As someone who has experience working in the fundraising sector, one of the most common apprehensions I have heard about foreign aid, is that it is extremely difficult to make sure the aid is going to the right people and not padding the pockets of corrupt governments or corporations. Furthermore, foreign aid is often viewed as inefficient, as the funds have to pass through multiple intermediaries in multiple countries, resulting in high administrative costs and slow disbursement of funds. Due to these challenges, there is a distrust between international aid organizations and potential donors, which can make it difficult to raise funds for legitimate projects.
One of the challenges with foreign aid is, unfortunately, that it can be difficult to track where dollars are going. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the aid isn’t going where it should, but it lends credence to the belief that something sketchy is going on. Unfortunately, the result is that both illegitimate and legitimate foreign aid projects can be equally impacted.
With Rahat, an innovative new blockchain-based project, there is the potential to address these criticisms and build much-needed trust and confidence in the foreign aid process.
The UNICEF innovation fund recently announced that they will be awarding a grant of $100,000 to Rahat, a project developed by eSatya. ‘Rahat’ means “relief” in the Nepali language, and helps support “the ‘last mile’ of relief distribution” in Nepal. More specifically:
Before we dive deeper into this project, it’s important to explore the context in Nepal that is the inspiration behind this project.
It is no secret that Nepal has unfortunately faced numerous natural disasters in recent decades. There was the devastating earthquake in April 2015, that killed nearly 9,000 people, and injured another 22,000. Beyond those injured and killed, hundreds of thousands of Nepalese were displaced as villages in the area were destroyed.
Nepal is also highly susceptible to flooding, and in 2020, hundreds of Nepalese were killed, injured, or missing as a result of 445 flooding and landslide incidents.
Given the context in which Nepal is situated, the team from eSatya came up with Rahat as a creative solution for how blockchain can be utilized to help distribute aid in response to humanitarian crises.
How does it work?
The Rahat project uses mobile-based blockchain tokens to manage transactions between beneficiaries, vendors, and aid organizations. Its intuitive platform includes a dashboard, wallet, vendor app, and QR code/SMS based token redemption process which is used by beneficiaries to receive aid. The blockchain behind the platform makes it easy to monitor and view real-time data on the flow of funds, making it highly transparent and leaving an auditable data trail. Furthermore, the efficiency of the underlying blockchain technology allows for rapid aid distribution while cutting down on many of the normal costs such as bank fees, staffing costs, etc.
Rahat’s online dashboard makes it simple to include both vendors and beneficiaries, including traditionally hard to reach unbanked populations. To receive aid, beneficiaries would need to only have access to a mobile phone. In essence, beneficiaries receive their tokens via SMS message, and can spend their tokens at local vendors for cash or goods. On the other end, vendors can then change their tokens for local currencies via the aid agencies or participating financial institutions.
Rahat is open source, making it easier to scale while allowing for communities of interested enthusiasts to contribute to and help improve the technology. According to the co-founder of Rahat, Rumee Singh:
A women led project
It is certainly worth mentioning that Rahat is a women-led project. Not only is it important to have more women-led projects in the male-dominated sector that is blockchain/crypto, but it is also vital to have representation in projects related to international aid. Unfortunately, humanitarian crises often disproportionately impact women and children, and regions with a high degree of gender inequality are also more susceptible to severe humanitarian crises. That being said, it can’t be overestated how important it is to have women leaders in this space. This is cetainly the case with Rahat, and in fact, one of Rahat’s co-founders, Rumee Singh, was named one of 10 women who are changing the face of technology in Nepal.
The broader implications
This is certainly a project worth keeping an eye on because the potential for scalability to other contexts is truly impressive.
It can be extremely difficult to efficiently deliver aid to those in need in emergency situations, and Rahat provides an innovative platform to help address this challenge. It makes it much easier for beneficiaries to quickly access aid and use it to purchase the goods and services they require. This is especially true with unbanked populations, who may struggle to receive aid through more traditional methods.
Furthermore, this innovation also makes it easier to audit transactions to ensure aid is going to the right people. This can help build trust in the international giving sector, and instead of trusting that your money is going to those in need, it can be easily verified through the underlying blockchain behind the technology.
Kudos to the team at eSataya for developing this amazing project with endless potential!
So, what do you think of the Rahat project? How could you see this being used in other contexts? Tweet us at @Crypto_Altruism, we would love to hear from you.
