On Celo

Follow us on a deeper dive into our recently announced partnership with Climate Collective, which will allow us to advance research and development for biodiversity tokenization. The Climate Collective was introduced by the Celo Foundation less than a year ago with the goal to shape a community driving the tokenization of natural capital, for example in carbon sequestration. Celo has decided to back 40% of their reserves in natural capital assets. But what exactly is Celo?

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Initially, the project started as a mobile-first payment solution for the unbanked, by focussing on unparalleled mobile integration, for example through its mobile first wallet Valora. Celo is a carbon-neutral layer 1 and is increasingly positioning itself as the go-to chain for DeFi. It achieves carbon neutrality not only by having a PoS consensus but also by offsetting its emissions by funding community tree planting through Wren.

Celo has enabled multiple projects so far, such as:

• impactMarket, providing financing for UBI projects in underdeveloped regions.

• Moss, bringing carbon on-chain as the first nature backed currency bought by Celo to back its stablecoins.

• Doni, a decentralised method for charity fundraising and donations.

In addition to those, several native DeFi projects exist or are being developed on Celo and it is listed on most crypto exchange wallets.

The idea of Celo, that some would term solarpunk, is based on the arguments made by Charles Eisenstein in his book Sacred Economics. Eisenstein advocates for a profound revision of how our money and our economy works, bringing a modern philosophical input to the problem of the commons, especially from an ecological perspective, which is bound to become mainstream with the advent of natural capital accounting.

But Celo goes beyond offering a unique layer 1 for businesses and is prepared for the disruption in the crypto economy that CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) inevitably will bring. The obvious use case is the development of currencies on top of Celo, but the possibilities go beyond that. For example, extensive research into emerging economies and their banking needs can provide financial inclusion like few other projects. Celo is thus at the forefront of multiple new developments in the web3 space and will continue to bring unorthodox approaches to the field in the future.

For readers, an in-depth review of what Celo is and how it has developed can be found in the form of a blogpost by notboring: https://www.notboring.co/p/celo-building-a-regenerative-economy

For listeners, this Podcast Episode on the ReFi Podcast is highly recommended to get a grasp on Celo: Apple Podcasts

Issue No. 5: Who is SimplexDNA?

Next up is our Co-Founder, People Connector and Business Developer:

Alex von Minckwitz

As a (life) scientist, Alex believes that we hold the key to saving the future of our planet already in our hands. Having grown up in the 90s with Gene Roddenberry’s hopeful notion that knowledge, teamplay and determination can overcome the odds, Alex is now fighting for the global transition to a sustainable bioeconomy.

Having worked in the biotech industry on metabolic engineering, synthetic biology and sequencing, in a sense, his career has always been “powered by DNA”. Alex believes in life-long learning and thus constantly challenged himself in technical, sales and leadership roles for companies like GATC and Twist Bioscience. He considers himself a big picture thinker and a people connector.

As an entrepreneur, Alex believes in approaching people and challenges with empathy and respect. By co-founding SimplexDNA, he takes joy in growing a company that is making a difference and will have a lasting positive impact on the planet.

Issue No. 3: Who is SimplexDNA?

Today we introduce our Lab Leader and Chief of Operations:

Dr. Elvira Mächler!

Elvira is a molecular ecologist with extensive know-how in aquatic environments gained during her PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). She always wanted to become a taxonomist with the ability to identify species by their morphological features. However, during her master thesis in 2013 she worked for the first time with environmental DNA and was fascinated by the opportunity this novel application brings and immersed herself into molecular methods.

In her research interests, she was always driven by the practical application of her scientific knowledge which led her now to the path of entrepreneurship. At SimplexDNA, Elvira uses her profound experience in field, experimental, and laboratory work to plan and execute projects with customers and partners.

The pursuit of sustainability and social impact are the main drivers for her motivation. She believes that SimplexDNA can contribute to the conservation of the compelling biodiversity which she enjoys much in her free time spent outdoors.