Empowa
Developed in partnership with Mercy Corps Ventures
Empowa is a decentralized property development and digital collectibles platform seeking to increase access to sustainable housing through DeFi.
Website: https://empowa.io/
HQ: Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Active Markets: Africa
Problem Addressed
African cities are facing housing shortfalls due to limitations in property rights, affordability, skilled labor, and construction delivery. An already 50 million unit backlog is exacerbated by a rapidly growing population and rate of urbanization.
Project Description
Empowa’s decentralized funding platform enables social and financial investment in environmentally sustainable property assets. Leveraging blockchain tokenization, Empowa’s RealFi – or tokenized real estate investment – uses non-fungible token sales to produce liquidity for affordable housing development. Global crowdfunding through Empowa incentivizes the purchase of yield returning NFTs, unlocking funds for development while opening up lease-to-own climate conscious housing for individuals. Lessees make payments on their new housing with NFT holders receiving compensation through Empowa digital tokens and redeemable impact rewards.
Business Data
Status: Active
Constituency Served: historically excluded groups, low income people, women
Networks: Cardano, Hedera Hashgraph
Known Investors: Mercy Corps Ventures
Additional References: Pilot Launch Article
Progress to date
As the result of a 2022 pilot project in partnership with Mercy Corps Ventures, Empowa was able to provide climate smart, cyclone-resistant starter homes in Mozambique for $10,000 under a lease-to-own model with interest rates under 10%. By September of 2022 the first development in Beira had increased the home loan market in Mozambique by 5%. Empowa’s 2022 impact report finds that the project had increased access to affordable housing for the urban population by 57%. 129 lives were improved, 155 housing-related jobs created, and more than 50% of home loan recipients were attributed to women-led households as a result of the project.
Business Model
Empowa sustains itself through underwriting, transaction fees, direct broker-dealing fees, market maker fees, and assets under management fees.
Traction
In 2023, Empowa announced an integration partnership with Hedera Hashgraph increasing access to traditional payment ramps and access to traditional financial institutions such as Africa’s largest bank, Standard Bank.