Should ReFi Hit the Reset Button?
It's possible that one of our fundamental assumptions isn't actually correct.
The age-old question in the impact space - especially climate impact - is who should pay for it.
ReFi's answer, largely, has been to try to mobilise "non-traditional" capital - that is, capital not from traditional ecological and social impact donors - to grassroots projects through vehicles such as ecological credits, microfinance, investment instruments, grants, and tokens. This answer is based on the fundamental assumption that people and small businesses have the same passion for impact that we do, that they are willing to foot the bill for a problem they didn't necessarily cause.
On the surface, this doesn't sound misguided. Survey after survey suggests that people are in fact worried about climate change. What is a lot less clear, however, is to what degree that worry motivates action. According to the Peoples' Climate Vote in 2024, not a lot. 80% of respondents think their government should strengthen climate change commitments and 70% think governments, big business, and the UN have had the most impact on climate change. In other words, the problem is well beyond the power of any individual to solve.
This is a problem for ReFi. If the very sources of capital ReFi is targeting to fund grassroots initiatives are of the belief that responsibility lies with the government and big business, where does that leave the us?
It was initially thought that financial incentives would be enough to convince people, but then we ran into that other prickly issue of Web3 usability and regulation. Even if someone wanted to provide capital, we don't make it easy for them. And yet, it's the problem we spend most of our time on because we are sure that people think about impact the way we do.
What's becoming increasingly clear is that we need to change our approach. ReFi solutions are much easier sell to downstream beneficiaries than to upstream capital sources, yet our messaging to both is the same. This has to change. We need new narratives and solutions that are not built on existing assumptions.
We may uncover some hard truths throughout the process, but at least we'll have a better understanding of who is willing to fund the impact we are working so hard to achieve.
Story We're Following
Mercy Corps Ventures is at the bleeding edge of stablecoin adoption in places where the impact will be most greatly felt.
๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ: ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง
@MCSocialVenture, in partnership with the Community Driven Development Organisation and @HesabPay_,
@MCSocialVenture, in partnership with the Community Driven Development Organisation and @HesabPay_,
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