Hello Steemit. I am Lorien Gamaroff, founder and CEO of Bankymoon, an African blockchain company that is focused on making Africa a better place through decentralisation.
http://bankymoon.com
https://twitter.com/gamaroff
A short while ago I demo'ed the world's first payment for electricity using Bitcoin. A conference was held at MIT in Boston, USA and one bitcoin was sent directly to a smart meter installed at a small school in South Africa. The smart meter system was using my crypto-prepaid system and converted the bitcoin into electricity for the school.
A great article was published on Coindesk which can be found here:
http://www.coindesk.com/south-african-primary-school-blockchain
Max Keiser from the Keiser Report was intrigued and I was interviewed on his show. Max rightly identified that this marked the beginning of a new paradigm for foreign aid where donors could now directly fund the causes they believe in without having to trust an organisation that would opaquely distribute funds and garnish costs from the payment. They could now trust that the entire amount was used only to pay for that school's electricity.
There are hundreds of schools in South Africa that have limited government budgets and simply cannot afford the costs of electricity, let alone other basic amenities and maintenance costs. I have received an overwhelming response from people all around the world who would love to be able to fund these schools using cryptocurrencies.
I am currently developing a crowd funding platform called Usizo, which means "Help" in Zulu. Needy schools will be listed and donors will be able to see details about them, specifically how much electricity they need till the end of the month. Donors will then be able to make a donation in Bitcoin, Steemit or any of the other top cryptocurrencies which will go directly to a blockchain-aware smart meter installed at the school and used to purchase electricity.
Here is a non-functional version of the Usizo platform which I will be releasing soon.
http://secret.usizo.org
I have not been able to raise the funding locally which is required to purchase the meters to install at the schools. Max Keiser has offered support on his Start Join venture. I was recently introduced to Steemit and am hoping that the community here could support this venture. Any Steem dollars that are earned through my posts on this subject will go to purchasing the meters and the development needed to complete the Usizo platform.
I will post stories on the developments so that the Steemit community can be aware of the progress. This community can have a direct and positive impact on many children's lives and with your support I know this project can be a great success.
If you would like to donate Bitcoin to the project I have created a new address.
12ohveZWtZiAEXQKBgSYVT3owfN9tNkkBW
If you would like to donate in another cryptocurrency please let me know and I will create an address for you.
Many thanks and I look forward to keeping you all updated!
:)
Part 2: Steemit Revolutionizes African Crowd Funding
Twitter verification that this is me!
https://twitter.com/gamaroff/status/780695931138273280
- gamaroff