Blockchain Platform Launched by ‘The Big Issue’ Newspaper to Promote Impact Investing

The Financial Times reported that The Big Issue, a street newspaper sold by the homeless in the U.K. and other countries, is launching a blockchain-driven platform to promote impact investing.

According to the FT, The Big Issue will be joined by three investment companies- UK Standard Life Aberdeen, U.S. Columbia Threadle needle and AllianceBernstein as founders of the platform dubbed The Big Exchange. It is set to start working within six months and will offer 30 to 40 social and environmental impact funds.

A minor fee will be charged from the potential investors to use The Big Exchange. Once registered to the platform, they will be choose between several sets of proposals awarded a gold, silver or bronze score based on their correlation with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.

The chairman of The Big Exchange , Nigel Kershaw, is planning to reduce the minimum investment to same price as the Big Issue to £ 2.50 ($3.20) from the expected minimum investment which is said to be as $640.

In the following five years, The Big Exchange expects to attract as much as $3.8 million. As per the FT, the platform has already raised about $1.3 million from London- based fintech company FNZ along with three of its founders.

As Cointelegraph previously explained, crypto-related technologies, and in particular blockchain could help increase transparency for donations and international transactions, reducing the fees on money transfers at the same time. Blockchain is widely used for social needs, especially in the field if charity.

For instance, people who suffered from devastating floods,in Japan in mid-July has recently received $1.41 million in various types of ERC20 tokens from major crypto exchange Binance.

Furthermore, blockchain solutions have also been used to promote social activity. For example, during October several recycling centers in Indonesia were open, offering locals tokens for waste collection by the manufacturer of household cleaning supplies SC Johnson and environmental organization Plastic Bank in partnership.