The IBM Blockchain Platform was a short-term funding and technology project involving the Hedera blockchain network. While this specific project has evolved into an ongoing enterprise blockchain strategy, IBM remains intrinsically involved with the Hedera network as a member of the Hedera Governing Council.
This position provides IBM with a direct voice and vote in the governance of the Hedera public network, influencing its technical roadmap, policies, and overall strategic direction. As a council member, IBM also contributes to the network's operational integrity by running a consensus node.
This engagement with Hedera allows IBM to participate, offer insights and contribute to advancements which align with its broader interests in advancing enterprise-grade distributed ledger solutions (DLT). This involvement complements IBM's extensive work with permissioned blockchains and strengthens the partnership between Hedera and the broader technology industry while providing a holistic perspective on the evolving blockchain landscape for IBM’s global enterprise clients.
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Standard Bank Group, located in South Africa, is Africa's largest bank by assets and among the longest operating financial institutions on the continent having been founded more than 150 years ago. The Group offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services via the Hedera blockchain including a wide array of payment processing solutions for both individuals and businesses.
The firm’s primary functions include facilitating transactional banking, lending, asset finance, merchant solutions, trade finance, and international payment services for its business and enterprise clients. Standard Bank also provides insurance and asset management services.
As a member of the Hedera Governing Council, Standard Bank provides enterprise-grade, secure transactions and digitized cross-border trade processes on the immutable Hedera distributed blockchain ledger.
Standard Bank is one of the leading Hedera-based service providers utilizing Hedera's Token Service (HTS) and Consensus Service (HCS). The primary focus of this collaboration is to improve transaction efficiency and reduce costs associated with international cross-border payments.
Flutterwave is a U.S.-based, Africa-focused fintech company founded in 2016. Its mission is to build a modern payment infrastructure to connect Africa to the global economy, simplifying commerce for businesses of all sizes across the continent and other emerging markets. The company provides a unified platform that allows merchants to make and accept payments without the complexities of navigating fragmented financial systems.
It offers a comprehensive suite of products and services through a single API. For enterprises and small businesses, this includes payment processing for various methods such as credit cards, mobile money, and bank transfers through its Flutterwave Checkout and Payment Links products. It also provides tools to create online stores (Flutterwave Store), issue invoices, and manage cross-border payouts. For individuals, its Send App facilitates international remittances, allowing users to easily transfer money to and from Africa.
Flutterwave has partnered with Hedera to integrate USDC stablecoin settlements on the Hedera network.
Headstarter is a decentralized fundraising platform and launchpad built exclusively for the Hedera network. Its primary purpose is to accelerate the growth of the Hedera ecosystem by providing a secure and streamlined environment for new projects to raise capital and build an initial community.
The platform operates on a tier-based system centered around its native token, $HST. To gain access to token sales, prospective investors are required to stake a certain amount of $HST, which places them into different tiers. These tiers determine the size of the allocation a user is guaranteed in an upcoming IDO, with higher amounts of staked tokens granting access to larger investment opportunities. This model creates utility and sustained demand for the $HST token while ensuring a fair and organized capital-raising process.
For projects, Headstarter provides an end-to-end solution for launching a token, handling the technical complexities of the sale and providing access to an engaged community from day one. For investors, it offers a vetted and secure venue to discover and support promising, early-stage Hedera-native projects.
SKUx is a fintech company developing a payments solutions platform for the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. Its mission is to eliminate the fraud and inefficiency that plagues the traditional promotional offer industry by creating a secure, transparent, and real-time system for offer delivery, redemption, and settlement.
The core of SKUx's service is its Smart Incentives platform, which transforms traditional coupons and rebates into serialized, payment-based offers. A key product is SKUPay, a patented technology that enables item-level payments, allowing brands to deliver value directly to consumers for specific products at the point of sale. The platform is designed to be seamless for consumers and requires no special integration for retailers, while providing brands with transparency and proof of ROI.
SKUx uses the Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) to create an immutable and auditable record of all offer-related transactions, from issuance to redemption. This provides a "single source of truth" for all parties in the ecosystem.