Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have been getting some bad press with monkey head pictures selling for millions of dollars without real benefits. Not so anymore, with the partnership between local blockchain company, LifesDAO, and South East Community Development Council (South East CDC).
Yesterday, these two different entities launched a partnership with to provide cost of living benefits through LifesDAO NFTs. Unlike other NFTs, LifesDAO NFTs (selling from S$3,530 to S$14,410) offer holders up to 300 credits per month that allow them to use for lifestyle services such as hair salons, physiotherapy and traditional chinese medicine.
Mr Pulse Tan, LifesDAO’s co-founder and chief technology officer, said: “Our vision at LifesDAO is to make use of Blockchain and Smart Contract technology to defray rising cost of living. LifesDAO NFTs are designed to grant its holders lifetime access to lifestyle services from participating merchant outlets in Singapore.”
This partnership between LifesDAO and South East CDC has a total value of $60,000 over a period of 10 years and will benefit vulnerable families in the South East District. While there are many assistance schemes for rent and meals for these families, initiatives aimed at improving their quality of life might not be as extensive. This is where this partnership comes in.
“Blockchain technology should not only enrich the lives of those who can afford it, but also especially enrich the lives of vulnerable families in our community. This partnership with South East CDC has allowed us to fulfil our mission to defray cost of living at all levels of society,” said Mr Tan.
Mr Fahmi Aliman, Mayor of South East District, said: “We are thrilled to be at the forefront of the Web 3.0 wave, partnering with a homegrown NFT project. It is the first time that we are social brokering through NFTs to provide services for the vulnerable in our community. We are heartened to have such meaningful partnerships, initiatives like this serve as a part of our mission to strengthen social infrastructure in our community by identifying and addressing the different needs of our residents.”
In the first year of their partnership, social purpose entities such as Filos Community Services, and their beneficiaries will have access to the benefits provided by LifesDAO’s NFTs, with a total value of $6,000. A total of 120 vulnerable individuals and their families in the South East District will be able to access lifestyle services from LifesDAO’s rapidly growing ecosystem of more than 100 merchant outlets across Singapore.
Ms Vivien Yeo, Community Engagement Manager of Filos Community Services said: “We are glad to be partnering South East CDC and LifesDAO for this initiative. Our clients found the network of services relevant and meaningful, and we saw strong support to continue utilising these services. We hope to continue supporting this initiative with companies like LifesDAO with a strong social responsibility focus in their business operations.”
South East CDC facilitated a one-month trial with Filos Community Services and LifesDAO, to understand the ways that beneficiaries, such as the elderly can utilise these services. According to Mr Tan, both the beneficiaries and merchants are happy with the trial. This is because the beneficiaries would use a code generated by LifesDAO to redeem the service. Thus, merchants do not know if the customers are LifesDAO NFT holders or beneficiaries.
Mr Nigel Chua, Director of Phoenix Rehab, said: “As a member of LifesDAO’s ecosystem of merchants, we are excited to play a role in this partnership and do our part to help the vulnerable families in our community.”