Akbank ReFi Hackathon applications have started! Participants will step into the regenerative finance world with the “Akbank ReFi Hackathon”, which is also a part of the ReFi Turkey program organized in collaboration with Akbank LAB and imece.
To design a new economy that will contribute to the regeneration process of the world by creating ReFi solutions with Avalanche technology, we invite you to apply by September 12!
Emerging technologies are not just limited to financial gain or loss and utopian fictional dreams. On the contrary, they have the potential to enable us to develop solutions for a better world. Aside from being cost-efficient and without the spirit of solidarity, technology can really help us regenerate our world. ReFi answers the questions like “how to build economic systems that protect the resources which are critical to humanity and our planet” and “how to spark regenative change” with the help of blockchain technology. ReFi’s proposition is to bring the practices of nature into today’s economy as a new perspective.
During the Akbank ReFi Hackathon, together we will discover solutions that can regenerate the world where impact ecosystem meets web3 technologies and sustainable finance.
We will go beyond the norm and search new ways on how concepts such as Blockchain, NFT and Web3 can be used for creating sustainable financial systems and social good from a ReFi perspective.
So, what are the focus areas of Akbank ReFi Hackathon? Let’s uncover a few examples on the focus areas together.
Our Focus Areas
Regenerating Ecosystems
Our planet is in crisis. We can regenerate the global ecosystem with the help of new technologies that have the potential to solve the climate crisis and environmental problems. In this framework, there are many different structures:
The Common Good Chain (ComGo): ComGo is a complete turnkey blockchain solution for ESG focused impact management, measurement, and accurate reporting. With its open API marketplace, ComGo allows organizations of all sizes and industries to tailor their impact tools to their needs or build their own.
Earthbanc: This initiative, which provides auditing and rating of key carbon assets, supported by European Space Agency programs, offers carbon credits both on and off the blockchain. The platform enables investors to finance their carbon consumption at an appropriate scale.
Menthol Protocol: The Menthol Protocol is the first multichain sustainability protocol to automatically balance verified renewable energy and carbon credits from around the world as well as carbon emission user or decentralized application transactions.
Open Forest Protocol: Blockchain-based platform expressing a crypto-economic ecosystem for joint measurement, verification, and reporting of afforestation data.
Regenerative Local Economies
Supporting and restoring the local economies can also have the power to spark a change in the global economic system. Here are some global examples of an end-to-end regeneration mechanisms by promoting the local:
CitizenDAO: As a social impact DAO, CitizenDAO brings together ideas, people and crypto to solve humanity’s biggest problems. (DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization.)
Coinsence.org: As a blockchain technology platform, Coinsence inspires young people to become leaders of local change and solve global problems.
Investment, Funding and Donation
The growing inequality gap in the world and the challenging capital distributions force us to rethink funds and donations. Unfortunately, sustianable development is not being financed to be fair to each and everyone. Moreover, it is highly challenging to measure the impact of social and impact-oriented projects/programs, and to create new investment opportunities for social impact oriented initiatives. However, regenerative finance, web3 and emerging technologies can provide a solution to these problems. A quick look to recent examples:
Refik Anadol x UNICEF: Refik Anadol, who visualizes the healing processes of mental illnesses using EEG sensors, fMRI, and DTI imaging techniques, donated the proceeds from the auction of his work to UNICEF.
UNICEF CryptoFund: CryptoFund is a new financial instrument that allows UNICEF to buy, hold and distribute cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency-based fund is part of UNICEF’s Innovation Fund, which invests in startups via Bitcoin and Ethereum. Developed in this context, Juniper provides a set of tools to help public sector organizations to use cryptocurrencies.
S.O.S Chain: A parametric fundraising platform built entirely on chain for charity, fundraising and donations. S.O.S Chain makes it possible to build a blockchain-based infrastructure to initiate funds to respond to disasters and humanitarian crises in a timely and transparent manner.
ACRE DAOs: ACRE DAO is a decentralized impact investment club. ACRE Invest is a web3 access portal for the community of token holders.
GiveTrack: GiveTrack: GiveTrack utilizes Bitcoin and blockchain technology to fund global projects that have high environmental and public health impact with a transparent donation platform.
Youth Employment
The number of young people who do not participate in employment, education, or training is increasing day by day. Technology-based approaches can also be used to increase youth employment is another focus area in Akbank ReFi Hackathon. Some examples from the world:
IDB Group (MIF), Monge Foundation and BanQu Pilot Project: IDB Group Innovation Lab, Monge Foundation, and purpose-built blockchain-as-a-service BanQu have joined forces to launch a pilot program aiming to improve youth employment in Costa Rica. This new program aims to store school, internship, and certificate records of young people securely and immutably in Costa Rica using blockchain technology.
Zlto: South African-based social enterprise Zlto works to reduce youth unemployment by leveraging blockchain technology. Zlto’s mobile app monitors and encourages healthy and positive behavior through community volunteering.
Chrono.tech: Empowering recruiters with blockchain technology, as well as enabling freelancers to secure their jobs and get paid quickly and fairly.
Quality and Transparency in Education
Blockchain has the potential to transform the education by cutting costs and changing the existing relationship between schools and students. It can also be an important tool for verifying certificates and course credits and creating a transparent environment that stores these information securely. For example:
Blockcerts: Provides an open platform for creating, issuing, viewing, and validating blockchain-based certificates.
King’s College New York: King’s College allows the use of digital currencies to pay for tuition, send donations and cover the costs related to these activities.
If you think you have a similar idea, apply now!
The countdown has begun for the Akbank ReFi Hackathon on regenerative finance powered by Avalanche technology! If you are excited about re-imagining new sustainable financial systems in which impact ecosystems are empowered by Web3 technologies, join in! As ReFi Turkey, we aim to bring everyone who works in these fields together and provide more resources to people who are interested. We invite all software developers, designers, and developers to Akbank ReFi Hackahton to create innovative solutions.
In the Akbank ReFi Hackathon, to be held at Sabancı Center between September 30 and October 2, you are expected to develop an idea on the Avalanche platform within 48 hours from scratch. After the applications close, all the applicants will be carefully evaluated. Only the selected participants will have the opportunity to compete. Once the 48 hours hackathon is completed, the most successful teams will be selected by our judges and will receive their awards in the final event, which is going to take place on October 2. The first prize of 100,000 TL, the second prize of 60,000 TL and the third prize worths 40,000 TL will be given to the finalists.
