At Mercy Corps Ventures, we’ve spent the past 7+ years investing and co-designing real world web3 use cases through our Crypto For Good initiative. To date, we’ve invested in and partnered with 30 protocols and startups to reach over 3,000,000 users. This newsletter focuses on our insights, reflections and optimism about the future of crypto for the underserved in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other emerging markets. 

Feel free to share this newsletter with anyone else who might enjoy some real-world crypto news. And as always, we’d love to hear from you — reach out and let us know what you’re up to. 

In this edition, we’ll cover: 

🤝 How we’re using stablecoins to deliver aid in Syria and Afghanistan

💎 Zero-cost philanthropy to support the Crypto For Good through ETH Staking  

Scaling-up our anticipatory action work  

🏆 The winner of our Agentic AI x Crypto For Good Hackathon at Paris Blockchain Week  

⭐ Stuff we liked 

We are very bullish on the potential of stablecoins to drastically improve humanitarian aid delivery. Fast, cheap, borderless transfers with instant settlements and on-chain traceability solve core pain points that have been plaguing the aid sector since its inception, namely that it is very expensive and time-consuming to send money to around the world, and once it arrives, reconciliation and settlement becomes difficult to manage when dealing with bags of cash. 

That’s why we launched the Humanitarian Venture Lab last year and have been partnering with NGOs and start-ups to advance this use case in the most challenging contexts. 

We recently launched two stablecoin pilots – one in Afghanistan and the other in Syria – to better serve those in need of humanitarian assistance. 

Limited connectivity, security concerns, and a lack of formal banking infrastructure make delivering cash assistance in rural Afghanistan a major challenge. To address this, in partnership with HesabPay and the Community Driven Development Organization (CDDO), we launched a pilot to test stablecoin-based digital payments for households in hard-to-reach areas. By combining blockchain technology with local connectivity hubs, the initiative enables secure, low-cost disbursements — even in areas without internet or mobile banking — offering a new model for last-mile humanitarian aid delivery in fragile settings. 

Since 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a civil war, which has cut the country off from the international financial system. Despite a pivotal regime change in late 2024, funding humanitarian operations in Syria remains expensive and difficult. Alongside tech and NGO partners, we are launching a new stablecoin-based pilot to provide faster, safer, and more cost-effective payments to smallholder farmers and agribusinesses in Northeast Syria

Lido Impact Staking enables ETH holders to support impact-driven initiatives while continuing to earn yield on their assets. Unlike traditional philanthropy, this model allows donors to give without depleting their principal assets, making it an efficient, zero-cost way to fund impact-driven blockchain projects. 

We are excited to be partnering with the Impact Staking initiative. Supporters can now stake ETH and allocate a portion of their staking rewards to our Crypto for Good Fund, providing funding directly to Web3 startups tackling financial inequality and climate vulnerability in emerging markets. 

Regular readers of this newsletter will be familiar with our work on Anticipatory Action, leveraging stablecoins, smart contracts and advanced climate analytics / AI to programmatically deliver aid before a climate disaster strikes. Delivering aid BEFORE a disaster strikes results in a 7-to-1 ROI compared to traditional methods, and our innovative approach drives a 75% reduction in transfer costs and a 90% decrease in settlement time. 

In partnership with Ripple, we are scaling up our work in the Horn of Africa to expand the reach and efficiency of anticipatory cash transfers, with better climate triggers and leveraging the RLUSD stablecoin.

We had a great time judging the official Paris Blockchain Week Hackathon last month. We were impressed at the dedication and energy levels of the 200+ participating builders, and appreciated the creativity and persistence of all teams in attendance. 

With our focus on the intersection of Agentic AI x Crypto For Good, Agrify Africa stood out as the top project. Agrify is building an AI agent that helps Farmers improve yield, earn carbon income and access global markets.

As a new addition to this newsletter, we’re sharing a few pieces of media and content that we liked (or made us think) lately. Hope you enjoy!

1. Insights on DePIN, Web3 Policy, and More | Amira Valliana from Solana Foundation (The Defiant) 

1. Why Private Equity Is Betting On Tokenization | Azeem Khan (Forbes) 

1. The crypto mines bringing light to rural Africa (BBC Africa on YouTube) 

1. China ramps up global yuan push, seizing on retreating dollar (Reuters)

    

Scott

At Mercy Corps Ventures, we’ve spent the past 7+ years investing and co-designing real world web3 use cases through our Crypto For Good initiative. To date, we’ve invested in and partnered with 30 protocols and startups to reach over 3,000,000 users. This newsletter focuses on our insights, reflections and optimism about the future of crypto for the underserved in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other emerging markets. 

Feel free to share this newsletter with anyone else who might enjoy some real-world crypto news. And as always, we’d love to hear from you — reach out and let us know what you’re up to. 

In this edition, we’ll cover: 

🤝 How we’re using stablecoins to deliver aid in Syria and Afghanistan

💎 Zero-cost philanthropy to support the Crypto For Good through ETH Staking  

Scaling-up our anticipatory action work  

🏆 The winner of our Agentic AI x Crypto For Good Hackathon at Paris Blockchain Week  

⭐ Stuff we liked 

We are very bullish on the potential of stablecoins to drastically improve humanitarian aid delivery. Fast, cheap, borderless transfers with instant settlements and on-chain traceability solve core pain points that have been plaguing the aid sector since its inception, namely that it is very expensive and time-consuming to send money to around the world, and once it arrives, reconciliation and settlement becomes difficult to manage when dealing with bags of cash. 

That’s why we launched the Humanitarian Venture Lab last year and have been partnering with NGOs and start-ups to advance this use case in the most challenging contexts. 

We recently launched two stablecoin pilots – one in Afghanistan and the other in Syria – to better serve those in need of humanitarian assistance. 

Limited connectivity, security concerns, and a lack of formal banking infrastructure make delivering cash assistance in rural Afghanistan a major challenge. To address this, in partnership with HesabPay and the Community Driven Development Organization (CDDO), we launched a pilot to test stablecoin-based digital payments for households in hard-to-reach areas. By combining blockchain technology with local connectivity hubs, the initiative enables secure, low-cost disbursements — even in areas without internet or mobile banking — offering a new model for last-mile humanitarian aid delivery in fragile settings. 

Since 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a civil war, which has cut the country off from the international financial system. Despite a pivotal regime change in late 2024, funding humanitarian operations in Syria remains expensive and difficult. Alongside tech and NGO partners, we are launching a new stablecoin-based pilot to provide faster, safer, and more cost-effective payments to smallholder farmers and agribusinesses in Northeast Syria

Lido Impact Staking enables ETH holders to support impact-driven initiatives while continuing to earn yield on their assets. Unlike traditional philanthropy, this model allows donors to give without depleting their principal assets, making it an efficient, zero-cost way to fund impact-driven blockchain projects. 

We are excited to be partnering with the Impact Staking initiative. Supporters can now stake ETH and allocate a portion of their staking rewards to our Crypto for Good Fund, providing funding directly to Web3 startups tackling financial inequality and climate vulnerability in emerging markets. 

Regular readers of this newsletter will be familiar with our work on Anticipatory Action, leveraging stablecoins, smart contracts and advanced climate analytics / AI to programmatically deliver aid before a climate disaster strikes. Delivering aid BEFORE a disaster strikes results in a 7-to-1 ROI compared to traditional methods, and our innovative approach drives a 75% reduction in transfer costs and a 90% decrease in settlement time. 

In partnership with Ripple, we are scaling up our work in the Horn of Africa to expand the reach and efficiency of anticipatory cash transfers, with better climate triggers and leveraging the RLUSD stablecoin.

We had a great time judging the official Paris Blockchain Week Hackathon last month. We were impressed at the dedication and energy levels of the 200+ participating builders, and appreciated the creativity and persistence of all teams in attendance. 

With our focus on the intersection of Agentic AI x Crypto For Good, Agrify Africa stood out as the top project. Agrify is building an AI agent that helps Farmers improve yield, earn carbon income and access global markets.

As a new addition to this newsletter, we’re sharing a few pieces of media and content that we liked (or made us think) lately. Hope you enjoy!

1. Insights on DePIN, Web3 Policy, and More | Amira Valliana from Solana Foundation (The Defiant) 

1. Why Private Equity Is Betting On Tokenization | Azeem Khan (Forbes) 

1. The crypto mines bringing light to rural Africa (BBC Africa on YouTube) 

1. China ramps up global yuan push, seizing on retreating dollar (Reuters)

    

Scott