Moeda, a Brazil-based co-op cryptocurrency, was formed to help women make positive changes in their communities. Last year it relaunched its Moeda digital token (MDA) to empower underbanked entrepreneurs through blockchain technology. The token is now pegged to the US dollar.
Moeda chief executive, Taynaah Reis, said: “We aim to provide a community-focused mobile lending system that will give investors real time transparency in projects that align with sustainable development goals.”
The organisation says it offers businesses a multi-purpose digital identity and opportunities to build their credit rating and reputation.
For investors, there is real-time transparency over impacts, which are aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals, and the reassurance of cryptographically assured blockchain records.
Among the businesses it has supported are Seed Women of the Contestado Land, a business support organisation formed by 16 women in Lebon Régi, in the southern state of Santa Catarina. The 16 Seed Women specialise in the baking industry and work “to help others build their own businesses and protect them from debt and foreclosure”.
Moeda has given them US $207,430 worth of microloans so they can offer bakers across Brazil the tools they need to get up and running.
Moeda says: “The sustainable development goals that are a part of this project include increasing gender equality, providing decent work opportunities and economic growth, overseeing infrastructural and industrial growth, reducing inequality, and using partnerships.”
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Another project to receive support is Cooperfavi-Bio, in Dona Emma, Santa Catarina. This has 266 members, and was set up to find ways to meet the challenge of climate change –a challenge which, Moeda notes, also “presents endless opportunities for innovation and sustainable development”.
Cooperfavi-Bio aims to implement organic bio-inputs for agroecological production, such as providing natural fertiliser and composted farm waste.
This improves outcomes for farmers because “the soil in effect remains high for a much longer period of time, the waste and losses from production and transportation are reduced, and the need for chemical agents is all but cut out entirely”.
It was given US $526,300 in Moeda microloans, and will help build sustainable cities and communities, take action on climate change, and improve the quality of life for farmers across Brazil.
