Wednesday 12th February 2020 saw BABB take our first step from darkness into light and we had a party to celebrate.
We have embarked on a journey towards providing financial services for the 2bn+ un-and-underbanked across the world and are working towards becoming the world bank for the microeconomy.
This wasn’t a typical product launch — it was a statement of intent.
It was also an opportunity for us to showcase the good that the platform can do and the difference it can make in collaboration with our fundraising launch partners, Mary’s Meals, Vitae London, Raging Dragons, and independent fundraiser Rafael.
Nearly 200 supporters joined us on-site over the course of the evening to help celebrate this milestone with Team BABB— many Blockchain / Crypto projects don’t get to this stage. Even fewer have a real-life use case that has the potential to make a positive impact on the lives of billions. The absolute definition of tech-for-good. Moreover, when it comes to providing a truer vision of borderless banking services, we are moving forward.
“People asked why we threw a party to celebrate the release of a Beta, the answer is simple.
“The BABB Platform is based around the concept of a global, connected community that will give people back control of their finances and not discriminate against their income level or where they live.
“We brought nearly 900 people together [online and in-person] to celebrate the occasion. ” — Rushd Averroës, CEO and Founder, BABB
v1.0 of the BABB Beta Platform:
- Open a BABB account quickly and easily
- Store, manage and convert BTC, ETH & BAX tokens
- Request and send P2P Payments from anywhere, to anywhere in the world for free*
- Connect your profile with friends and family
- Create and donate to causes all over the world — getting more money to where it is needed most.
You can sign up for the BABB Beta waiting list here.
The BABB Landscape
Financial inclusion goes beyond simply providing a bank account or a singular service — BABB crosses multiple verticals to provide best-in-class services for our customers and will continue to expand in each respective area.
Problems the BABB Platform solves
- Removing barriers for fundraisers.
Fundraisers and donors across the world are subject to significant fees. What’s worse is that they are typically restricted to the domestic market only as overseas payment fees often reduce the final amount received significantly.
- Reduced operational overheads through technology
Financial inclusion can be made a reality by stacking existing technology with BABB’s technology layers which can be customised for local needs — that’s exactly what we’re doing.
- Lowering barriers of entry to the Cryptocurrency ecosystem
For many, going to an Exchange is intimidating and too complicated. Through BABB, users will be able to top-up their wallets in real-time directly from their bank account, credit card or existing external wallet. It’s that simple.
- Removing 3rd Parties
Each company introduced into any transaction process adds cost — through BABB, users are able to cut out the middleman completely and thus, the costs associated.
- Cross-border transaction costs
By using our utility token (BAX), users are able to convert, send it across borders and withdraw on the other side — without the complication of interbank or FX fees.
The Launch Partners
The launch party wasn’t just about BABB — it was a celebration empowering those doing good in the world through technology.
We invited several incredible launch partners to pitch so that the audience could donate in real-time real causes.
In just minutes of opening, each cause had raised hundreds of pounds from generous BABBians.
Mary’s Meals
Mary’s Meals is a simple idea that works — by providing a daily meal at a place of education, chronically poor children are attracted to the classroom where they can gain a basic education that provides an escape route from poverty.
Our vision is that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education and that all those who have more than they need, share with those who lack even the most basic things. The average cost of feeding a child for a whole school year is just ÂŁ15.90!
Every meal costs 8p. We are now feeding 1.6 million children thanks to people like you who donate.
Mary’s Meals is now in 18 countries worldwide. We started in 2002 feeding 200 children in Malawi. Our mission: FOOD + SCHOOL = HOPE! We hope you join our movement and help end bring hope to children globally today.
“It really means a lot to us to be given such a platform to share the Mary’s Meals message.
“Thank you to those who have already donated, we are already over 3.8mn BAX it is amazing!” — Clare H, Fundraiser, Mary’s Meals
Learn more about Mary’s Meals fundraiser.
Vitae London
Time on this planet is something we all share, but the life chances that occupy it are far from evenly distributed — even in this day and age.
Many children in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to bare necessities which we in other areas around the globe may often take for granted.
Each Vitae London timepiece is imbued with the premise behind our mission: “Time, and its opportunities, belongs to all of us, wherever we are in the world, we can live without limits.”
Along with charities on the ground, Vitae London is embracing the innovative spirit of some of the world’s most difficult to reach youth so that we can make a difference.
And now the global village of Vitae London customers, in time zones from Accra to Atlanta to Tokyo and beyond, are making a huge difference to the life chances of children throughout Africa. Providing two sets of school uniforms to children who would otherwise be turned around from school OR a solar light for those children in rural areas with no electricity so they no longer have to walk for hours for a street lamp or burn harmful fuels.
Learn more about the Vitae London fundraiser.
Raging Dragons
Storm Ciara danced her way across England over the weekend at a speed of 70mph (up to 100mph on the coastline), leaving travel chaos, heavy floods, and damaged homes. One of those homes is Raging Dragons’.
On Monday morning, our Head Coach received a call from our training center about the devastating state of our equipment shed. Storm Ciara had successfully taken it off ground and flew it over the other side of the fence, which exposed and damaged the Club’s equipment.
Without a proper home, the Club is at risk and cannot function.
Learn more about the Raging Dragons fundraiser.
Victims of Taal Volcano
Rafael is an independent fundraiser who is using the BABB platform to raise funds to support the communities in Agoncillo — a small town in the Philippines with a population of ~40,000 (roughly the same as the London Borough of Camden) which was recently devastated by the Taal Volcano eruption.
Many of the local communities are dependent on livestock, farming, and fishing. The damage to the fishing sector has been calculated at around £2.5mn — the livestock and farming sectors are under review but expected to be more significant.
Rafael’s short term goal is to support chosen wards in Agoncillo for:
- the provision of animal feeds to help nurture the surviving animals critical in farming and other livestock;
- Purchase animals for families that have lost theirs.
His medium-term aim is to raise ÂŁ20,000 on or before September 2020 on/before September 2020.
Learn more about Rafael's fundraiser.
What we’re working on now…
- Cash-in and Cash-out are currently in development and testing
- Continued product developments and improvements from MVP
- UI/UX updates
BABB Chief Technical Officer, Grant Van Wyk said: “I feel privileged to share BABB’s passion in delivering Tech For Good. Excited to be able to bring my knowledge and experience in technology that enables financial inclusion to BABB” “While we have been through rounds of intrusion testing and ethical hacking, we are rolling the Beta out in phases.
“This is a live environment with real assets involved. Without practicing the correct due diligence, we would potentially bring further scrutiny on the Blockchain/Crypto industries.
“The launch party gave us the opportunity to extend to a userbase of 300 testers who are already providing valuable feedback on everything from user acceptance, bugs and glitches to UI/UX improvements.
“I take pride in starting my career in South Africa and being to part of a developing economy, including the related financial challenges faced daily by very diverse circumstances and people.
“As a result I take strength from a quote by our beloved Madiba — Nelson Mandela “It always seems impossible until it done!”
The BABB team is currently focused on fixing a couple of small bugs before we onboard the next round of investors and those on the Beta waiting list from next week onwards.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch here.
Follow us on Social Media for our next big announcement:
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
*Fees may be applicable from bank/card providers in some instances and converting fiat 1 to fiat 2 and/or crypto 1 to crypto 2. Internal BABB P2P, same-to-same in both instances [Crypto and Fiat] is free.
