As the number of forcibly displaced people is continuously on the rise, the funds that are necessary to help assist them are however not following the same exponential curve. That is why, at Switzerland for UNHCR, the innovation unit was created to find new and innovative ways of raising funds for those most in need. 

One year ago, we ventured into new waters and initiated a collaboration with the Cardano Foundation through the launch of WRFGS, a charity stakepool for Refugees. Since then, the journey has been with an extremely steep learning curve but we managed to master the field and become fully-fledged members of the Web3 community. 

 

A stakepool such as WRFGS can be compared to an investment fund, where individuals invest their money, however in this case as it is a charity stakepool, all the rewards generated go to UNHCR rather than being profitable to the investor.  

The totality of the rewards go to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and divided in the following way:

80% help support millions of people forced to flee around the world through unearmarked funds, which means that they are distributed where it is most needed, towards the most underfunded crises. For us, it's any of the underfunded crises that UNHCR has identified, like the situations taking place in countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Chad, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Colombia, Uganda, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. 

Some of them are silent crises; many people might not know about them, often making it more difficult to raise funds, while others are protracted, meaning that they have been going on for so long that they are slowly being forgotten. Because these situations are so underfunded, the majority of the funds generally has to go towards the most basic needs such as shelter, heating and essential items.  

The other 20% rest go to the Refugee-led innovation fund, championing the creativity of all displaced and stateless people. It aims to reshape their participation in the delivery of humanitarian solutions by ensuring they take centre stage in the decisions affecting their lives, leading the identification of needs and the design of innovative solutions. 

Find out more about the refugee-led innovation fund 

• To this day, almost 1,5M Ada were delegated on the charity stakepool, with close to 60.000 CHF generated in rewards; a number expected to triple by the end of 2024.  
• There were a total of 5 NFT projects launched in 2023 in collaboration with renowned artists from the Cardano ecosystem, some of which sold out in 48 hours.  
• Throughout the year, we were also Invited as key speakers to prominent Web3 Conventions such as Metafest, Paris Blockchain Week or the Cardano Summit. 
• And most importantly, we won an INATBA award in the Sustainable Innovation category. This award, given away in a Gala in Brussels on 30th January, recognizes Switzerland for UNHCR’s efforts in using blockchain technology as an innovative way to help raise funds in support of people forced to flee.