SDG Blockchain Accelerator – Across 2 Cohorts (14 Projects)
UNDP Partnership
Cardano Ecosystem
Evidence-Based

Portfolio Review & Maturity Assessment

This portfolio demonstrates Cardano ecosystem deployment across 14 SDG-focused pilots experiencing 1,940 direct users and 7,623 beneficiaries today, with identified replication pathways to 2.36M+ users. Below is a comprehensive maturity, reach, and ecosystem value assessment.

📊 Last Updated: March 2026 | Data Source: Team Submissions Across 2 Cohorts

Portfolio at a Glance

Projects Tracked
14
Spanning climate, energy, circular economy, finance, education, and traceability.
UNDP Entities & Partnerships
12
India, Nigeria, Armenia, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Georgia, Ethiopia, Bosnia, Malawi, Angola/Zambia, Better than Cash Alliance, Office of Procurement.
Cardano Deployed
13 of 14
Projects with contracts in Preview, Testnet, or Mainnet environment. (FuelSwitch in architecture phase; SALA VC framework stabilizing)
Pilot-Ready or Live
7 of 14
Projects at Pilot-Ready or Mainnet/LiveProduction stage.
Direct Pilot Users
1,940
Active operational users across deployed and pilot-stage projects today.
End-User Beneficiaries
7,623
Households, students, farmers, communities in deployed and pilot projects today.
Advanced Cardano Infra
3+
Projects using Hydra, Aiken, or native assets actively.
Replication Pathways
5+
Projects with multi-country expansion documented.

Project Maturity Pipeline

All 14 projects organized by development stage, showing clear progression from concept to live mainnet deployment.

1

Architecture / Concept Design

1 project
FuelSwitch (Ethiopia) – Architecture design phase, smart contracts planned
2

Prototype / Pilot Preparation

6 projects
SolarVillage (Nigeria) – Hydra Heads, 32 sites, 5 dashboards built
Green Giraffe (Angola/Zambia) – Testnet prototype, smart contracts planned for pilot
Creative Operations (Georgia) – 1 contract deployed, 4 more planned for testnet
ClimaFi (BCA) (Mexico) – 2 testnet flows (token minting, transfer), mainnet planned
ClimaFi (UNDP) (Tanzania) – 1 proof-of-concept flow, bootstrap phase
SALA (Bosnia) – VC framework stabilization, Web2 system in place, rollout target end of March 2026
3

Testnet / Preview Deployment

1 project
Genius Tags (Malawi) – Payment settlement contract on testnet, 19+ development iterations
4

Pilot-Ready (Ready to Operate)

2 projects
KarbonLedger (India) – 7 Aiken contracts on Preview testnet, mainnet planned post-pilot
Cladfy (Bangladesh) – 3 Aiken contracts (DID, Loan Validator, NFT Receipts), ready for pilot launch
5

Mainnet / Live & Operational

4 projects
Plastiks Armenia – 6 contracts live on mainnet, founder deployment, accreditation phase
Plastiks El Salvador – 6 contracts on mainnet (platform reuse), in MOU stage with government
Plastiks India – 6 contracts on mainnet (platform reuse), largest scale potential (1.225M beneficiaries)
Zengate (Bangladesh) – Winter Protocol & Merkle Oracle in production since May 2025, 20-50 producers in pilot
📊 Portfolio Distribution
• 13 of 14 projects have Cardano components deployed (Architecture → Mainnet)
• 7 projects are Pilot-Ready or Live (ready for scale)
• 4 projects in production: Plastiks (3) + Zengate – real-world operational deployment
• Clear progression: 18–24 month journey from concept to mainnet in some cases (Plastiks, Zengate)

Current Pilot Reach (Baseline)

Users and beneficiaries active or in pilot phase today. Measurable and verifiable.

Direct Operational Users 1,940
End Beneficiaries 7,623
Total: 9,563 people
This is real deployment reach, not speculative.

Scale Potential (Forecast)

Cumulative multi-country, multi-sector rollout scenario with favorable institutional uptake.

Projected End Beneficiaries at Scale
2,364,400
Multiplier: ~249x from pilot baseline
Assumptions: Multi-country UNDP rollout, platform reuse (Plastiks model), institutional partner adoption.
Range: Plastiks India alone projects 1.2M+; others vary 20K–350K each.

Sector Diversity

Portfolio spans multiple SDG areas, reducing concentration risk and demonstrating Cardano versatility.

Geographic & Institutional Reach

12 UNDP entities across multiple countries with embedded multi-country expansion pathways. Replication targets add 20+ jurisdictions (AMP 21 countries, etc.).

Replication Signal: Plastiks successfully replicated from Armenia → El Salvador → India (3 countries, 1 platform). SolarVillage targets 21-country AMP rollout.

Cardano Ecosystem Value

Concrete infrastructure adoption and public sector trust-building, not theoretical interest.

Smart Contracts Deployed
30+
Mainnet: 18 (Plastiks 3×6) + Zengate infra
Testnet/Preview: 12+ (Aiken, standard SC)
Live Mainnet / Production
4
Plastiks: Armenia, El Salvador, India | Zengate: Bangladesh (since May 2025)
Advanced Cardano Infra
3 Types
Hydra Heads: SolarVillage (32 sites)
Aiken: KarbonLedger, Cladfy (10 contracts)
Public Sector Partners
8
UNDP country offices co-sponsoring government & NGO partnerships

Portfolio-Wide Impact (5-Year Forecast)

Cumulative outcomes across all 14 projects when fully deployed and scaled with institutional partner uptake.

End Beneficiaries
2.36M+
Breakdown: Plastiks (1.2M+) + SolarVillage (750K) + Cladfy (42.5K) + Others
CO₂ Emissions Avoided
3M+ tons
Breakdown: Plastiks (2.45M) + FuelSwitch (100K+) + others
Economic Value Created
$280M+
Plastiks: $245M (India) + $11.9M (El Salv) + $7M (Armenia)
Informal Economy Reach
4.8M+
Waste pickers (4.5M), cooperatives (42.5K), farmers, rural communities
💰 Major Circular Economy Impact
Plastiks: 246K+ tons plastic/year recovered
Creative Operations: 25K users in e-waste incentives
Green Giraffe: 10-20K agricultural supply chain participants
⚡ Energy & Infrastructure Access
SolarVillage: 150K+ users with electricity access (Year 3-5)
KarbonLedger: 15-20 CETPs, 300+ operational users, state-scale deployment
Zengate: 1,000 agricultural producers with payment & traceability
👥 Financial Inclusion & Gender Impact
Cladfy:
42,500+ women with blockchain-verified cooperative loans across 315+ cooperatives
Genius Tags:
100K+ beneficiaries (potential 1M+) with deduplication & payment integrity
FuelSwitch:
2,500+ households with clean cooking access + carbon benefits
📊 Impact Assumptions by Project Category
Circular Economy (Plastiks, Creative Ops, Green Giraffe):
• Plastiks: 3.5M tons baseline → 35% Year 5 recovery = 1.225M tons/year ($245M value)
• Creative Operations: 25K users, e-waste DAO model at scale
• Green Giraffe: 10-20K agricultural supply chain participants
Energy & Environmental (SolarVillage, KarbonLedger, FuelSwitch):
• SolarVillage: 32 → 150 microgrids (Year 3) → 500+ (Year 5 with AMP)
• KarbonLedger: 1 CETP pilot → 15-20 CETPs regional clusters
• FuelSwitch: 2,500 cookstoves, 100K+ tons CO₂ avoided at scale
Financial & Beneficiary Services (Cladfy, Genius Tags, Zengate):
• Cladfy: 100 women (2 coops) → 42,500 (315+ coops) in 9-33 districts
• Genius Tags: 100-200 records (pilot) → 100K-1M+ beneficiaries (2-3 datasets →national)
• Zengate: 20-50 producers (1 commodity) → 1,000+ at scale across Bangladesh
Aggregate CO₂ & Informal Economy:
• CO₂ Avoided: Plastiks (2.45M) + FuelSwitch (100K+) + KarbonLedger/others = 3M+ tons
• Informal Economy: 4.5M waste pickers + 42.5K women coops + 10-20K farmers

Partner Ecosystem & Institutional Support

UNDP co-sponsorship with government, technical, and ecosystem partners across 8 country offices and 21+ regions.

UNDP Country Offices (8)

India – KarbonLedger, Plastiks
Nigeria – SolarVillage (AMP 21 countries)
Bangladesh – Cladfy, Zengate
Armenia – Plastiks (founder)
El Salvador – Plastiks (replication)
Georgia – Creative Operations
Ethiopia – FuelSwitch
Bosnia – SALA (verifiable credentials)
Malawi – Genius Tags

Government & Regulatory (9+)

India: SPCB (regulators), IIT Madras, ICCW
El Salvador: MARN (Ministry), ANDRES (recyclers org)
Armenia: ISSD, EcoPack (EPR org)
Ethiopia: Ministry of Planning & Development
Nigeria: NCCC, REA, AMP (21 countries)
Malawi: Ministry of Agriculture
Bangladesh: ILO, SERA Bangladesh
Bosnia: University of Sarajevo, Ministry of Education (Cambodia partnerships)

NGO & Development Partners (12+)

WWF – Green Giraffe, environmental verification
GIZ – Green Giraffe, supply chain support
260 Brands – Green Giraffe, industry engagement
Z4ABC – Green Giraffe, community support
ICCW – KarbonLedger, water domain expertise
Solar Foundation – SolarVillage, microgrid advisory
Team Switch – SolarVillage, infrastructure partner
M3tering Protocol – SolarVillage, metering software
Wasteless – Creative Operations, waste partner
RVO – FuelSwitch, financing support
African Minigrids Programme – SolarVillage scale (110k+ minigrids)
🎯 Ecosystem Strength Signals
✓ Government Co-Sponsorship: 8 UNDP country offices actively engaged; regulatory alignment (SPCB, MARN, NCCC, REA)
✓ Technical Depth: Ecosystem developers (Cubid, Xcapit) + domain experts (WWF, GIZ, ICCW)
✓ Scale Infrastructure: Africa Minigrids Programme (21 countries, 110k+ planned minigrids) provides distribution backbone
✓ Risk Mitigation: Multi-stakeholder partnerships reduce single-point failure; institutional capital ensures continuity

Project Portfolio by Maturity

Ordered by deployment readiness. Each shows Cardano status, current reach, and scale potential.

📊 Data Source
Team submissions, Across 2 Cohorts partners, UNDP country office assessments (January–February 2026)
🔗 Partnerships
UNDP, local government partners, NGOs, and institutional investors
📋 For Questions
Contact UNDP SDG Blockchain initiative or submit inquiry via official channels

SDG Blockchain Accelerator – Across 2 Cohorts Portfolio Assessment
Assessment Date: March 2026 | Portfolio Span: 18–24 months | Prepared for External Stakeholder Review

Evidence-based portfolio review prepared for UNDP leadership, institutional partners, and future supporter evaluation.

This assessment reflects validated team data and measurable pilot results. Scale forecasts include explicit assumption statements and risk mitigations.