Delivering financial aid to those in need faces considerable obstacles, especially in developing nations. Distribution networks struggle with last-mile delivery - actually getting money into the right recipients' hands. Many recipients lack bank accounts, facing high costs or travel distances to access funds. These issues reduce successful distribution to beneficiaries and drive up operational expenses for aid organisations.

Exacerbating matters, distribution at reach and scale lacks traceability and transparency. Donors cannot confirm if funds reach the correct beneficiaries or verify project spending. Recipients may pay high fees to money vendors while aid groups grapple with fraud. Complex regulations around money transmission and anti-money laundering further bog down the system.

New technological solutions like digital transfers over blockchain provides financial continuity when traditional infrastructure is compromised or no longer fit for purpose.

Biometric IDs and automated, instantaneous verification for recipients can reduce fraud while improving traceability.

However, overcoming legacy financial and technological hurdles remains an ongoing challenge. Aid organisations must balance efficiency, compliance and ethics concerns with the distribution of donations to people in the direst need. Compromise becomes a limiting factor, resulting in avoidable human tragedy.

This is one of the reasons we developed Axiom. During our long standing deployment in Ukraine the platform has supported the secure, compliant disbursement of over $300,000 in aid and is being used to train more than 1,100 Ukrainians with vital medical response and urban search & rescue skills.

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This is just the start. We are extremely excited to extend our support to the broader humanitarian and NGO sector in 2024 and beyond. If you would like to discuss support for your cash assistance program or project management at reach, please reach out to me directly.

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