Ben Joakim's guest appearances

Ben Joakim

Finding Genius Podcast

Giving Thought

Dave and Dharm DeMystify

Chris Skinner

Alex Mashinsky

Ross Ulbricht

Lyn Ulbricht

Jameson Lopp

Marco Peereboom

Megan Ramos

Danny Flood

Abel James

Nir Eyal

Perry Marshall

Scott Young

Ben Goertzel

Steven Kotler

Ross Taylor

OwlTail

On this week's show, we welcome Ben Joakim. Ben is currently Head of Strategy for Principality Building Society and is a NED for FinTech Wales. He was previously founder and CEO of a FinTech start-up Disberse (https://www.disberse.com/), whose mission was to ensure greater transparency, velocity and accountability between donors and receivers in the aid sector. Ben talks about his experience at Disberse. He then chats about the challenges and opportunities for the building society sector and about FinTech in Wales.

On this week's show, we welcome Ben Joakim. Ben is currently Head of Strategy for Principality Building Society and is a NED for FinTech Wales. He was previously founder and CEO of a FinTech start-up Disberse (<a href="https://www.disberse.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.disberse.com/</a>), whose mission was to ensure greater transparency, velocity and accountability between donors and receivers in the aid sector. Ben talks about his experience at Disberse. He then chats about the challenges and opportunities for the building society sector and about FinTech in Wales.

EPISODE 27: BUILDING SOCIETIES, FINTECH IN THE AID SECTOR AND WALES WITH BEN JOAKIM

Paul Currion

In this episode (number 29), I chat to Ben Joakim and Paul Currion from Disberse - a fintech startup applying blockchain technology to the international development and aid sector. We had a wide-ranging chat about the challenges they have found in getting beyond the hype surrounding blockchain, and the genuine opportunities they believe the technology has to offer. Including: -Why blockchain? What can you do with a blockchain in an aid context that you can't do with another, simpler technology? -The last mile problem: how do you get money and goods to where they are actually needed when using blockchain, assuming that people and communities on the ground are not themselves using the technology? -Regulation: how are governments and regulators approaching blockchain technology? What challenges does this present for those trying to use it in a civil society context? -Cryptocurrency: Why have Disberse chosen not to work with existing cryptocurrencies? What are the opportunities and pitfalls of doing so? -State of blockchain for good: How much of what has been said about blockchain tech's potential in the civil society space is merely hype, and how much reflects true potential to do this differently or better? And where do things go next?   Related Material:  Disberse  CAF's work on blockchain tech  CAF's Future:Good project Could blockchain be the future for cross-border giving? (My article for European Fundraising Association) 

In this episode (number 29), I chat to Ben Joakim and Paul Currion from Disberse - a fintech startup applying blockchain technology to the international development and aid sector. We had a wide-ranging chat about the challenges they have found in getting beyond the hype surrounding blockchain, and the genuine opportunities they believe the technology has to offer. Including: -Why blockchain? What can you do with a blockchain in an aid context that you can't do with another, simpler technology? -The last mile problem: how do you get money and goods to where they are actually needed when using blockchain, assuming that people and communities on the ground are not themselves using the technology? -Regulation: how are governments and regulators approaching blockchain technology? What challenges does this present for those trying to use it in a civil society context? -Cryptocurrency: Why have Disberse chosen not to work with existing cryptocurrencies? What are the opportunities and pitfalls of doing so? -State of blockchain for good: How much of what has been said about blockchain tech's potential in the civil society space is merely hype, and how much reflects true potential to do this differently or better? And where do things go next? Related Material: <ul> <li><a href="http://www.disberse.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Disberse</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/caf-campaigns/campaigning-for-a-giving-world/future-good/blockchain" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> CAF's work on blockchain tech</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/caf-campaigns/campaigning-for-a-giving-world/future-good" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> CAF's Future:Good project</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.efa-net.eu/features-and-opinions/expert-view/740-expert-view-could-blockchain-be-the-future-for-cross-border-giving" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Could blockchain be the future for cross-border giving? (My article for European Fundraising Association)</a></li> </ul>

Ben Joakim & Paul Currion from Disberse: Philanthropy, International Aid and blockchain technology

For ten years, Ben Joakim worked in the international development sector. During that time, he saw recurring international transactional inefficiencies accompanied by unnecessary banking fees, and complications arising from poor exchange rates and currency fluctuation. It seemed that international transactions were unavoidably subject to long transactional chains with no transparency. But in a developmental humanitarian context, “Transparency is really important, and without it, we know that a significant proportion of funds are lost either to mismanagement, misuse or fraud and corruption,” says Joakim. Knowing this, how can individuals or institutions ensure that their donations are going where they are supposed to go? In essence, they can’t, which may help to explain the current decline in public donations within the international development and humanitarian sector. So, what’s the solution? Joakim believes it’s Disberse: “A fund management platform that drives the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of development and humanitarian finance.” Press play to hear the details. Joakim also discusses:  How exactly Disberse allows for transparency and efficiency in foreign aid transactions The drawbacks and potential dangers of complete public transparency, and how Disberse can mitigate these dangers by controlling who has access to the blockchain on which the transactions occur      The core business model of Disberse How Disberse’s token negates any potential issues involving volatility 

For ten years, Ben Joakim worked in the international development sector. During that time, he saw recurring international transactional inefficiencies accompanied by unnecessary banking fees, and complications arising from poor exchange rates and currency fluctuation. It seemed that international transactions were unavoidably subject to long transactional chains with no transparency. But in a developmental humanitarian context, “Transparency is really important, and without it, we know that a significant proportion of funds are lost either to mismanagement, misuse or fraud and corruption,” says Joakim. Knowing this, how can individuals or institutions ensure that their donations are going where they are supposed to go? In essence, they can’t, which may help to explain the current decline in public donations within the international development and humanitarian sector. So, what’s the solution? Joakim believes it’s Disberse: “A fund management platform that drives the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of development and humanitarian finance.” Press play to hear the details. Joakim also discusses: How exactly Disberse allows for transparency and efficiency in foreign aid transactions The drawbacks and potential dangers of complete public transparency, and how Disberse can mitigate these dangers by controlling who has access to the blockchain on which the transactions occur      The core business model of Disberse How Disberse’s token negates any potential issues involving volatility

Ben Joakim: Controlling Transparency, Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Finance