G20 TechSprint Hackathon Fifth Edition to Work on Sustainable Development Goals

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) have announced the fifth edition of the G20 TechSprint Initiative.

This initiative intends to create a development solution that will promote sustainable finance to support sustainable development goals.

The G20 TechSprint will be a global competition that will access innovation while developing cutting-edge technological solutions that are also sustainable. This competition is open to participants globally.

G20 TechSprint Hackathon Focuses On Sustainable Development Goals

The previous editions of this hackathon focused on regulatory compliance, supervision, sustainable finance, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and cross-border payments. This year’s edition will focus on inclusion and sustainable development goals.

The BIS has mentioned three problem areas that need to be addressed by the participants of the TechSprint 2024.

The first is nature-based solutions. The participants need to come up with technology solutions that will attract and incentivize sustainable and inclusive investments. These solutions should be targeted at promoting biodiversity and preserving nature.

The second problem statement is environmental, social, and governance (ESG). ESG includes new technologies that will boost the quality, reliability, and granularity of ESG data to boost due diligence. The offering will also present disclosure and the management of risks associated with ESG.

This second problem statement targets large corporates, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It also targets investors and financial institutions, regulators and supervisors.

The third problem statement that the participants have to address is open source solutions that will support financial decisions and capital allocation. To fulfill the sustainable development goals, the participants have to focus on preserving biodiversity, clean energy, financial education, inclusion, and climate change, among others.

Leveraging Technological Advancements

While commenting on the development, the General Manager at the BIS, Agustín Carstens, opined that promoting sustainable finance needed collective action. The hackathon will also boost advancement in the technological industry.

“The journey towards sustainable finance requires collective action and relentless innovation. We must continuously push the boundaries of what is possible, leveraging the full spectrum of technological advancements and collaborative partnerships at our disposal,” Carstens said.

The Governor of Banco Central do Brasil, Roberto de Oliviera Campos Neto, opined that the fifth edition of the G20 TechSprint will reinforce the commitment of Brazil and the BCB to promote sustainability. The hackathon will also meet the objective of promoting financial innovations that can transform reality.

Those who want to participate in this hackathon need to go to the Apix hackathon platform. Through this platform, users can register, build prototypes, and enable the online judging of project proposals. The teams that will be shortlisted for the hackathon will get an invitation to create their solution over eight weeks and showcase them to national authorities and experts.