BIS and Central Bank of Brazil announce winners of G20 TechSprint
Fifteen shortlisted teams from around the world competed to develop
innovative technological solutions to address sustainable finance
challenges related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). Solutions aim to stimulate the widespread adoption and
scaling of nature-based solutions; enhance environmental, social and
governance (ESG) data reporting; and accelerate progress towards SDGs.
The winning teams are Ekonavi, Tese and Kaleidofin.
The Bank
for International Settlements (BIS) and Banco Central do Brasil (BCB)
today announced the winners of the G20 TechSprint 2024 – Technology
for the Planet challenge during an award ceremony in Brazil.
The G20 TechSprint is a joint initiative between the G20
Presidency and the BIS Innovation Hub to seek out best-in-class
technological innovations aimed at solving challenges facing the
global central banking and regulatory community.
This year's
TechSprint, the fifth edition of the G20 global hackathon open to
developers from around the world, was launched in April by the BCB and
BIS, under Brazil's G20 presidency. The competition sought solutions
to address challenges related to the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and its
innovation and venture capital arm IDB Lab, as well as the Central
Bank Employee's Association Federation, Fenasbac, supported the
initiative.
Fifteen shortlisted teams presented their
solutions to an independent panel of judges convened by the BCB in
Brazil. Following are the winners for each of the three problem
statements: Team Ekonavi, from Brazil, won the category for problem
statement #1, on developing nature-based technological solutions that
incentivise and attract sustainable and inclusive investments targeted
at biodiversity and nature preservation. Their solution tokenises data
from verified ecological restoration projects into investable assets,
aligning with international ESG standards. Team Tese, from Hong Kong
and serving small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa, won the
category for problem statement #2, on improving the quality,
reliability and granularity of ESG data to facilitate due diligence,
disclosure and management of ESG-associated risks and opportunities.
They create ESG dashboards for small and medium-sized enterprises,
streamlining reporting. Team Kaleidofin, from India, won the category
for problem statement #3 on developing open source solutions to
support financial decisions and capital allocation aligned with SDG
goals, including preserving biodiversity, climate change, clean
energy, financial education and inclusion, and poverty alleviation.
Their data-driven credit health assessment product enables financing
for businesses via innovative debt structures and predictive risk
models, lowering costs.
The 2024 TechSprint has shown how new
technologies can scale up sustainable finance solutions to address
sustainable development goals. From preserving biodiversity to better
managing ESG-related risks, these proposals can help build a more
sustainable financial future.
The BIS Innovation Hub is proud
to have partnered with the Central Bank of Brazil in this year's G20
TechSprint and we extend our warmest congratulations to all the
winners.
Cecilia Skingsley, Head of the BIS Innovation
Hub
This fifth edition of the G20 TechSprint focused on
sustainable finance, specifically on solutions that align with
sustainable development goals. It drew a record-breaking 110 proposals
from every corner of the world, each offering a vision and pathway to
address the complex, often interconnected, challenges of sustainable
finance. This has been a powerful demonstration of the impact we can
achieve when we unite behind shared goals.
Roberto Campos Neto,
Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil
Shortlisted teams