Sempo builds open ecosystems to connect financially isolated communities with the global economy
Applicant name: Sempo Pty Ltd
Innovation Name: Sempo Cash Transfer Platform
Innovation Type: Product
Website: https://sempo.ai/
Mission: Sempo builds open ecosystems to connect financially isolated communities with the global economy
Innovation Description: With 70% of Syrian refugees selling aid to buy what they need, traditional aid is failing affected people. It is also expensive, time consuming and logistically challenging. For 1.7 billion unbanked people, exclusion from the market inhibits the recovery of the local economy after a crisis.
NGOs play a critical role in the immediate response and long term recovery of communities affected by disaster.
Using the Sempo platform, NGOs can disburse credits to recipients from their desktop in minutes, significantly reducing the time, resources and logistical challenges associated with in kind or cash aid. For recipients, they can buy what they need, when they need.
Sempo facilitates the financial inclusion of the unbanked, enabling choice and control. NGOs can provide assistance to affected communities within minutes, monitoring activity in real time, remotely via the Sempo dashboard, while at the same time, reducing overheads. Using blockchain, immutable records can be provided to donors, offering the highest levels of transparency.
Status of Innovation: Pilot
Innovation Active Since: 07/27/2019
Applicant Type: Private Company
Headquarter City: Melbourne
Headquarter Country: Australia
Year Founded: 2017
Main Category
Main Category Choice: Remittances For Social Impact
Why do you think you should win this category?:
Sempo uses blockchain technology and crypto-collatorised tokens, enabling financial inclusion of unbanked populations. Our offline functionality supports remote, low connectivity environments.
Sempo’s online platform reduces overheads for NGOs, time and travel costs to recipients, increases the efficiency of aid delivery and reduces the risk of corruption through blockchain records.
To date, we have reached approx 2500 individuals and transferred approx US$40k through the platform, deploying in Greece, Iraqi Kurdistan, Lebanon and Vanuatu. A post pilot report is produced at the conclusion of each pilot, detailing results and impact.
Our team has backgrounds in engineering, finance,coding, and humanitarian operations as well as experience in human centred design. All team members have experience in delivering a cash transfer program.
We work with communities, iterating on the ground to ensure our technology aligns with cultural and social norms, is easy to use and accepted by community members.
Secondary Category
Secondary Category Choice: End-user Experience
Why do you think you should win this category?
Sempo applies human centred design approaches, building technology that is appropriate, sustainable and accepted. We work on the ground to gather feedback on initial perceptions and usage experiences.
For people living in remote, isolated regions with limited infrastructure, complex technology has not yet been introduced. Alongside communities, we build technology that is so easy to use and intuitive that it can be taught in minutes, regardless of literacy levels or history with technology.
Using our platform, disaster affected individuals are able to immediately access digital tokens and choose what they need, whilst rebuilding their local economy.
Our technology has reached approx 2500 people in Greece, Iraqi Kurdistan, Lebanon and Vanuatu. In Vanuatu, of 80 recipients surveyed, 96% reported our platform provides ‘a lot of choice.’ Over 98% reported they would prefer to use an e-voucher in future disasters, believing it is easier to use.
Our team has backgrounds in engineering, finance,coding, and humanitarian operations.
Team Members
Full Name: Melanie Hardman
Role: Head of Humanitarian Operations
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-hardman-8b4138118/
Full Name: Tristan Cole
Role: Co-Founder
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristanhcole/
Full Name: Nick Williams
Role: Co-Founder
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-williams-7a941168/
Supporting Links
Pitch Deck: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qC2welgf7RM6tYxyZJELh54EOilZAbIRgiWrtKFZBis/edit?usp=sharing
ABC Radio interview about the Vanuatu pilot: https://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgE7JRpM27?play=true
Entry Representative
Full Name: Melanie Hardman
Role: Head of Humanitarian Operations
