UNDP showcases how blockchain complements DPI and digital transformation efforts

From Ghana to Georgia, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has implemented blockchain technology into dozens of public systems over the years, including those related to digital identity. The organization has now published a primer on projects that have successfully integrated tamper-resistant digital ledgers to support development across the world.

The paper, titled “New Tech, New Partners: Transforming development in the digital era,” was created in collaboration with its AltFinLab, which advocates alternative finance solutions. The UNDP hopes that the document will demonstrate how new technologies, experimentation and new partnership models for digital public infrastructure can drive development. ​

“When designed responsibly, [blockchain] can complement wider digital public infrastructure and digital transformation efforts by strengthening how data, value, and accountability move through systems,” says the organization. “In practical terms, this means rules, payments, and records can be coordinated across public institutions, communities, and partners in ways that are verifiable, auditable, and harder to manipulate.”

The document highlights 42 blockchain use cases from across the world, including seven that involve digital identity and data.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, for instance, the UNDP is supporting a program to issue verifiable digital university diplomas with the help of the University of Sarajevo Tele-Informatics Centre (UTIC) and EdTech company Sala.

The blockchain technology was used to export diploma data from the university’s student records into the Sala platform which generates digital credentials for graduates which are stored within a digital wallet compatible with eIDAS standards. These credentials can be shared through a QR code or a secure link to an employer or institution which can verify them against its on-chain record.

In Malawi, the organization has developed a blockchain-supported digital verification system called Genius Tags for registering and verifying households that require humanitarian aid.

Household registration records are converted into secure digital codes and processed through Genius Tags’ deduplication engine. Verified households receive a QR code they can present at distribution points to collect cash, food and other assistance. Each transaction is logged in real time in a shared digital record, giving partners a view of who has received support and where.

And in Kazakhstan, the development agency is collaborating on a project that allows anonymous access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV. The system is developed by blockchain company MystenLabs and the Sui Foundation to create digital tokens that allow people to request the medicine without revealing their identity.

Other examples include projects in Georgia, Ghana, Mauritius and Seychelles.

​Aside from digital identity, the publication demonstrates how blockchain can be used in digital payments and financial inclusion, climate and nature finance and community-led investment models.​​

The UN is also implementing blockchain in other projects. Last year, the organization released a white paper detailing how blockchain-based Digital Certificate of Entitlement (DCE) modernized pension verification for more than 70,000 United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) beneficiaries. Aside from blockchain, the digital system is powered by biometrics, AI and geo-location technologies.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  blockchain  |  digital identity  |  digital public infrastructure  |  humanitarian  |  social protection  |  UNDP