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HACK!

2020

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Event ends at 30 September!

1st SEPTEMBER

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Judging event has started. Please wait for the announcement of winners!

6th OCTOBER

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The hackathon starts on 1-09-2020 and ends on 30-09-2020 with results be announced mid-October. Participants develop the solution from the comfort of their home, coordinating with their team members through the channels they prefer

THE CHALLENGE

The Poverty Trap has long been a problem, much exacerbated by a decade of ‘austerity’ since the 2008 crisis. The economic consequences of Covid-19 make ita threat to millions more. Let’s be clear… poverty isn’t about not buying fancy things – it’s increased infant mortality, lower school performance, higher suicide rates, heart attacks and relationship breakdowns.

This hackathon will create tools to keep people out of the poverty trap, literally saving lives, by tackling two of the key problems that push people into the poverty trap:

  • Credit scoring – poor credit scores exclude people from the best deals, forcing them into more expensive options which ultimately make the problem worse.
  • Scheduled payments – Direct Debits or Standing Orders “bounce” – creating charges and the challenge of catching up on missed payments.

But we can reimagine Direct Debit as Direct Credits by combining three readily available technologies:

The solution starts with integrating an “open banking” service, a marketplace platform, and a digital wallet in a single web application empowering people with a more natural and intuitive way to manage payments and cope with day to day financial challenges.

… where you go from there is up to you!

THE PRIZES

BBFTA

  • 1st = £12k worth of BiPs 
  • 2nd = £6k worth of BiPs 
  • 3rd = £2k worth of BiPs 

BBFTA is a non-profit organisation created to network and support those at the forefront of the in Britain and beyond. As firm believers in the benefits of blockchain and frontier technologies for social impact, we are delighted to support the Fairer Finance Hackathon which aims to find solutions to break the poverty trap and give everyone, regardless of income, access to fairer finance.

CPRAS

1st = £2000

The top three submissions will also be offered a role as senior tech advisors to this project with a revenue share of:

  • 1st = 3%
  • 2nd = 2%
  • 3rd = 1%

The top three submissions will also be offered a mentoring package worth up to £6,000.

CPRAS developed the concept through our close working relationships with UK local government. We believe strongly that poverty CAN be eradicated… we just need the determination to do it. This is a particularly exciting initiative as it benefits everyone – people escape or avoid the poverty trap, businesses can supply millions of people that they currently have to exclude, and government need to spend less on dealing with the consequences of poverty.

GBA

  • 1st winning team gets 2 free individual membership passes
  • 2nd winning team get 2 60% discount vouchers on individual membership
  • 3rd winning team gets 2 30% discount vouchers on individual membership

Government Blockchain Association is a global non-profit organisation focussing to promote blockchain technology by empowering individuals and organisations to connect, communicate, and collaborate to solve public sector challenges. GBA brings together governments around the world facilitating efficient, ethical, and rational adoption of blockchain technology for powerful and meaningful innovations. GBA has 120 chapters worldwide and 15k+ members.

The JUDGES

Mentors

Genevieve Leveille
Genevieve LeveilleInnovative Entrepreneur | Global Speaker | 2019 FT Top 100 BAME in Technology in UK | 2020 FDM Everywoman Finalist
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Genevieve led AgriLedger’s collaboration with Haiti’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry to deliver a Distributed Ledger Technology pilot sponsored by the World Bank. The project went live in May 2020 allowing Haitian fruit farmers, customers and families to reap the benefits of fairer prices and improved food security. She is also leading a COVID Rapid Response project supporting the effective and safe delivery of testing kits by assuring the Value Chain.
Genevieve was nominated by the Financial Times to the top 100 BAME in UK technology in 2019 and was a named a winner of the ComputerWeekly 2020 Women in Software and one of the top five finalist for Quesnay’s Female Founders in FinTech 2019. She is vice-chair of techUK’s Distributed Ledger Technologies Working Group, which provides strategic direction for all UK activities related to DLT, and is an inaugural member of the Advisory Group for the Estonian Government’s eResidency initiative. She has spoken on emerging technologies at numerous high-profile conferences around the world.
Rhian Lewis
Rhian LewisTechnologist (Ruby/Rails/SDET/AWS/Blockchain)
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Rhian Lewis is a software developer and writer who co-developed the cryptocurrency portfolio tracker CountMyCrypto in 2014 and co-founded the London Women in Bitcoin meetup group the same year. Her book, The Cryptocurrency Revolution, will be published by Kogan Page in October. She is an instructor for the B9lab Ethereum QA Engineer course.
Why I support the hackathon: Financial inclusion, specifically the ability to make low-cost, secure digital payments, is one of the most important things we can do to create a level playing field. As we move towards a society where cashless payments become the norm, this need becomes even more pressing.
Matt Schofield
Matt SchofieldCo-founder & CTO of Credit Kudos
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Matt is a seasoned CTO and Data Scientist and specialises in engineering large-scale software systems for data analysis and building teams around them. He was in Universal Music’s team that used consumer listening behaviour data to more effectively invest in undiscovered musicians. Matt saw a parallel in Credit Kudos’ potential to build a more inclusive financial system for those overlooked by the credit bureaux. Matt is a delegate of the PSD2 Third Party Provider community present on the Open Banking Technical Design Authority. He is also amongst the foremost technical leaders inside the Financial Data and Technology Association trade body, regularly contributing to policy discussions both in the UK and across the globe.

Messages of Support

"I am pleased to see the power of the UK’s tech talent harnessed to tackle problem debt, poverty and the resulting mental health issues. Alongside initiatives like Breathing Space, innovative fintech solutions can play an important role in helping people take control of their finances and levelling up our country."
John Glen
John GlenEconomic Secretary to the Treasury | Member of Parliament for Salisbury in Wiltshire
"The war against poverty needs new weapons . Let the new generations use their imaginations to fashion new tech weapons to win the war. Hackathon is a great idea!"
Meghnad Desai
Meghnad DesaiMember of the British House of Lords | Emeritus professor of economics at the London School of Economics
“Access to fair and understandable finance is key to helping people out of the poverty trap. Unless ladders like this exist then people are all-too-often stuck in a vicious circle, never moving forwards no matter how hard they try. As a former Chair of a credit union I saw this problem first hand and I’m keen to see what innovative solutions are brought forward through the Fairer Finance Hackathon.”
Simon Fell
Simon FellMember of Parliament for Barrow & Furness
"I have been supporting Christians against poverty who seem to be excellent at bringing people out of debt my helping in the management of their finances. When they come on the scene the creditors seem to become more flexible"
James Mackay
James MackayMember of House of Lords | Baron Mackay of Clashfern, KT, PC, QC, FRSE | Editor-in-Chief, Halsbury's Laws of England
"It’s good to see tech being used to try to tackle some of the problems faced by the many people living in poverty"
Ruth Lister
Ruth ListerBaroness Lister of Burtersett, CBE, FBA, FAcSS | Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough University
“Making access to finance and information about your own finances simple is a huge step to helping people take control of their money. Too often banks make it hard to know what you have and what you owe, The Fairer Finance Hackathon will end that.”
Virendra Sharma
Virendra SharmaMember of Parliament for Ealing Southall
"I am enthusiastic about any attempt to make finance easier for the less well off."
David Steel
David Steel Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom| Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC
“Poverty is not a personal choice. Whether we alleviate or aggravate poverty is a societal choice and one we make each time we raise or lower tax, fund or cut social security, empower or restrain the third sector. While these may seem to be never-ending political debates, we can effect meaningful change by making other, more compassionate choices. Choosing to use technology to confront poverty is an eminently wise choice."
Neale Hanvey
Neale HanveyMember of Parliament for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
“The Poverty Trap has long been a problem which has been in recent times. Due to the COVID- 19 Pandemic, many more are at risk from falling into the Poverty Trap. I fully support this event which aims to create the tools in which people will be able to use to keep out of the Poverty Trap and I wish all the participants the best of luck.”
Bob Blackman
Bob BlackmanMember of Parliament for Harrow East
"After a decade of austerity, and now with the backdrop of the economic crisis being caused by Covid-19, it's vital that we strain every sinew to help raise people out of poverty and prevent them from falling into destitution in the first place. Fair and open access to finance is central to helping to solve some of these problems. I'm looking forward to seeing what innovative solutions come out of the Fairer Finance Hackathon and I would urge anybody with fresh ideas and passion to get involved! There are some great prizes on offer and you might just end up helping to improve the living standards and wellbeing of others right across our country."
Chris Elmore
Chris ElmoreMember of Parliament for Ogmore
"I wholeheartedly welcome Richard Hallewell’s ‘Fairer Finance Hackathon’ search for coders and developers to present tech solutions to break the poverty trap. The current banking and finance systems place a greater burden on those who can least afford to pay and quite literally, ‘being poor costs more’ and the impacts can be lifelong - even devastating. I fully support the initiative to develop an app to tackle this iniquity".
Dr Lisa Cameron
Dr Lisa CameronMember of Parliament for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow | Scottish National Party politician |Consultant Clinical Psychologist
"I am delighted to be involved in this initiative which aims to provide a technological solution to people falling in to the poverty trap by addressing poor credit scores and bounced payments. An app based solution will really make a difference to some people in my constituency and across the country. I am looking forward to being part of the panel that judges the entries and am excited to see the innovative designs from some of the UK’s best and brightest designers and tech gurus.’"
Paul Maynard
Paul MaynardMember of Parliament for Blackpool North and Cleveleys
"Far too many people in our communities were struggling with poverty before the pandemic began. Covid-19 has exposed existing inequalities and brought with it a steep rise in financial hardship. I support The Fairer Finance Hackathon's efforts to find creative new solutions to address poverty and the debt trap which are issues that hugely impact many families.”
Wera Hobhouse
Wera HobhouseMember of Parliament for Bath | Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Justice, Women, and Equalities
“If you are struggling this is essential. If you aren’t, I urge you to support”
Darren McGarvey
Darren McGarveyAuthor | Musician | Journalist
"We are on the business end of a decade of austerity, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only served to further entrench existing inequalities. This is a fantastic initiative which tackles these issues by looking for pragmatic, practical solutions to problems with accessing credit and managing finances."
Anne McLaughlin
Anne McLaughlinAuthor | Musician | Journalist
“As we face mass lay-offs, the end of the furlough scheme and bankruptcies it is terrifying to think how many more people will fall into the poverty trap. And it’s a trap that turns into a cycle. Once you fall into poverty you take more risks; you’re more likely to be overdrawn; you’re more likely to use lenders who charge more; you find yourself stuck outside the system wondering how to get in. FinTech has the potential to address the array of issues which add up to financial exclusion. The Hackathon is a fantastic initiative that is doing just that and the positive energy, innovation and hard work of everyone who is committed to this mission, to make a real difference to people’s lives deserves our support.”
Chris Holmes
Chris HolmesMember UK House of Lords | Speaker | Consultant | Inclusion | Digital Technology for Public Good
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