Akbank Retail Banking and Digital Solutions Deputy General Manager Burcu Civelek Yüce said, "We want to make Turkey a center for ReFi."
ReFi Turkey's first community meeting, carried out in cooperation with Akbank LAB and imece, brought together important names in the Web3 field with the social and environmental impact ecosystem.
According to Akbank's statement, Regenerative Finance (ReFi), enables the production of projects that create social and environmental impact by using new technologies, especially blockchain. In this context, the first community meeting titled 'Web3 for Good' was held in the ReFi Turkey program, which was initiated to support regenerative finance projects and the ecosystem.
Many names, including Sinan Güler and Mert Fırat, took part in the event where the social and environmental impact ecosystem came together with the names in the Web3 field. At the event, where Web3 technologies could provide solutions to the needs in the impact ecosystem and regenerative finance practices were discussed, the participants had a wide networking opportunity.
imece Board Member Buğra Çelik, whose speech at the event was included in the statement, said:
'When we look at the interventions that can be the way out of the crises we are experiencing in the world, the internet, which is the best coordination tool we have, is entering a new phase. This makes possible a new finance model that restores people and nature. There is a newly accelerated global movement in the field of Regenerative Finance, in short ReFi in Turkish, and Turkey has the potential to be a pioneer in this field. This potential emerges both because Turkey is at the forefront of agendas that we see in the world, such as the climate crisis, natural disasters and migration, as well as having strong actors in the impact and Web3 ecosystem.'
- 'We aim to rebuild the future with Regenerative Finance'
Burcu Civelek Yüce, Deputy General Manager of Akbank Retail Banking and Digital Solutions, who spoke at the opening panel, also underlined the importance of the program and stated that it is a first in the sector and in the world.
Noting that they have taken a step towards solving environmental and social problems by making use of Web3 technologies with Regenerative Finance, Yüce said, “We broke new ground in the burgeoning ReFi field in the sector and in the world. With the ReFi Turkey program in this area, we want to increase Web3 literacy, become the founder of the ReFi ecosystem in Turkey, accelerate the ReFi projects that will come out of our country, and make Turkey a center for ReFi.' used the phrases.
In the first part of the Good Practices panel, titled "Web3 for Good at the Intersection of Ecosystems", the panelists emphasized that Web3 technologies enable applications that provide trust with transparent, public, non-deletable or changeable records, in the light of their own experiences. The guests explained the perspectives they developed from their experiences in the ecosystems they are in, which have positive effects on people, society and nature, through various examples.
SOS Chain Co-Founder Mert Fırat stated that besides his social impact-oriented work motivations, how these works intersect with Web3 technologies, he continued as follows:
'While we were sitting helplessly in front of the screens in the fires that took place last summer, we asked ourselves why we have to suffer from systems that cannot be implemented all the time. We set out with the questions: Can we create a wallet for SOS Chain, can we cause wallets to turn into meaningful consumption, can we establish an ecosystem for pre-purchases, can we benefit from artificial intelligence here, and can we connect these wallets with various data systems? At the beginning we hesitated as to whether we are making a truly meaningful contribution or are we creating new and greater needs that we cannot pursue or sustain. However, we have established a structure where we can measure, monitor and report the results better, and even anticipate the needs and meet them with support.'
-“We need to rewrite the rule sets on the regenerative side'
Guler Legacy Co-Founder Sinan Guler, while addressing the approaches that bring together sports, technology and entrepreneurship, drew attention to the concepts of focus and time.
Güler said, 'The things to do are unlimited. The important thing is to ensure sustainability, to determine its impact on people and to find out how to take the right steps within unlimited possibilities. If we want to change the world, the only way to reach our goal is to start today, only then can we change our world.' made its assessment.
- New events are on the way
According to the information given, ReFi Turkey program, which focuses on Regenerative Finance, will continue its journey with Akbank ReFi Hackathon. Akbank LAB is adding a new Hackathon to its annual Hackathon events, focusing on Regenerative Finance this year. Akbank ReFi Hackathon will be the first hackathon to be organized on the blockchain network by a bank in Turkey in cooperation with the Avalanche network.
The teams that will compete in the Akbank ReFi Hackathon, which will be physically held at Sabancı Center on September 30-October 2, will develop their ideas on the Avalanche platform within 48 hours, which will design a new economy and start the repair process of man and the world. The first three projects to be selected by the jury will receive prizes of 100 thousand, 60 thousand and 40 thousand TL, respectively.
