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!
GREAT JOB! thanks for making this world a better place for us all. All for one and one for all! Namaste :)
I think this is a wonderful way to help those that need it! Thank you for sharing it with stemit!
Wow, excellent idea. sent a small donation and upvoted.
Would be keen to know how I can implement this in my ancestral home in Obiaruku, Delta State , Nigeria. Any ideas ?
Happy to bring it to Nigeria. It is on my roadmap. We'll get through the first rollout in SA and then head north!
Lorien is VERY VERY real! I saw him demo the (early version?) Bitcoin smart meter product in South Africa in 2015 and I also hung out with him at a Prague Bitcoin conference a few weeks later( he was one of the main reasons I decided to go to the Prague conference). He is a great guy and there need to be more people like him walking the Bitcoin walk in Africa. A lot of people TALK about how Africa and Bitcoin seem to work well together, but few are actually doing things to bring Bitcoin usage and awareness to the continent.
Thanks Adam. I watch your channel all the time. I love your spirit!
Great! :) Can we support you in a way till your platform is online?
Hi Febird. Thanks! I have a bitcoin address which will be dedicated to the project. It is 12ohveZWtZiAEXQKBgSYVT3owfN9tNkkBW. If you would like to donate with any other currency please let me know and I will create an address for you. Thanks again! :)
Why don't you create a steem account (which is a steem address) dedicated to the project? Everyone here could then transfer steem-dollars and steem easily.
Thanks for the tip.
I'll do it!
Thanks!
Welcome @gamaroff very inspiring post. Upvoted and followed and resteemed
@gamaroff, great to see you on the platform and thank you for making the world a better place using your tech! Chat soon @jacor resteemed by the way.
Thanks @jacor. And thanks for telling me about Steemit!
Great project. It can now happen that a school can get an oversupply of electricity. It will be good if there is an interface with the different items a donation can be made to with the latest status of it. Then the donator can use it to donate where the need is.
We have a "need" meter on the crowdfunding platform so that donors only donate what is needed for the month.
There might be an option where excess funding goes to school items like school repairs, text books etc.
This is a good example of technology being used for a good cause. Carry on with your good work.
Brilliant !
What a fantastic idea - direct to the source
hope this post get the funding you require
got my 'little' up vote
I love seeing crypto currencies able to aid human life outside the digital realm!
Very interesting application of Bitcoin technology. I absolutely love technology that can help us solve African problems. Very cool finding out about this via Steemit, looking forward to seeing more update on the progress. What has the reception of Eskom been to this?
No word from Eskom, although, I presented it twice to the South African Revenue Protection Association and they are enthusiastic about solutions that enable Africans to make convenient and cheap payments for services.
This is really a great 💡 idea, i hope you'll get all the needet support to realize it :)
I love the idea,i think i will revolutionize donor funding in Africa,great work Lorien
!
This is a great example of how the Blockchain technology will change the way the entire society will behave! BTW thanks for helping people!
Cool story!
@alex2016
Fantastic initative ... need more of this and its exciting to learn what can be done with Blockcain, Bitcoin a Criptocurency
Very interesting, I'm developing a project (3 months to start crowdfunding )for African children and schools in Mozambique
The meters would be good for the project of electricity in Schools
Cheers
Hey gamaroff and welcome to Steemit.
Can you verify your account via Twitter? So we know it's you and not someone pretending to be gamaroff :)
Sure, how do I do that?
I recommend to make a tweet on Twitter confirming you are on steemit now. Post the link here
Here it is:
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
Great! Welcome Lorien :) You are a true inspiration. Looking forward for your project
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