UNITLIFE, a fund hosted by the United Nations (UN), and Onlyone, the first payment account supporting positive impact, today launched a strategic partnership that will leverage innovative financing to support programmes confronting the scourge of chronic malnutrition – a disease that affects 144 million children worldwide.

Under this strategic partnership, Onlyone will deploy microdonations to capitalize programmes focusing on confronting and eradicating chronic malnutrition. Every month, the digital bank will donate 60 euro cents for every customer to finance UNITLIFE’s investments. By committing to this microdonation initiative, Onlyone is aiming to be a source of sustainable financing, demonstrating the utility of microdonations to finance large-scale development initiatives, and empowering customers with the opportunity to combat a disease that inflicts permanent neural damage within just the first 1,000 days of life of the child.

Every month, the digital bank will donate
60 euro cents for every customer to finance UNITLIFE’s investments

The partnership between UNITLIFE and Onlyone brings together two institutions leveraging innovative finance business models to support crucial development interests. Onlyone is utilizing the digital bank model to lower the cost of banking to democratize access to financial services. Modeled after the UNITAID initiative that utilized financial innovation to support the development of HIV medicine, UNITLIFE will leverage such innovative finance measures as voluntary micro-donations via non-cash transactions, innovative matching and crowdsourcing schemes, blockchain fund-raising, and click-to-donate models.

Initiated by Professor Philippe Douste-Blazy, former Minister of Health and advisor in innovative financing to the Secretary General of the United Nations, UNITLIFE is a fund that uses new technologies to mobilize and deploy the resources acquired through a global citizen solidarity movement.

Chronic malnutrition leads to stunted growth, a weakened immune system, and irreversible brain damage. Malnutrition is responsible for the deaths of more than 3 million children a year worldwide. The negative effects of climate change as well as health crises such as epidemics aggravate chronic malnutrition and threaten the progress made in the fight against this disease.

UNITLIFE’s mission is to bring nutritious food to future generations, so that every woman and child has the chance to reach their full potential. To do this, UNITLIFE supports women farmers in the production of highly nutritious food and helps them withstand climatic shocks in order to improve the nutrition of their children, their families and their communities.

UNITLIFE thus fights against chronic malnutrition, a disease which leads to growth retardation, a weakened immune system, as well as irreversible brain damage. Malnutrition is responsible for the deaths of more than 3 million children a year worldwide. The negative effects of climate change as well as health crises such as epidemics aggravate chronic malnutrition and threaten the progress made in the fight against this disease.

UNITLIFE was created by UNCDF, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and by UN Women (UN Women). The Secretariat is hosted by UNCDF, and is based in Paris at Station F, the largest start-up campus in the world.

About Onlyone

Created at the end of 2018, Onlyone is an independent bank that is 100% digital, ethical and with positive impact. Founded by Kamel Nait-Outaleb, Amine Melouk and Matthias Rouberol, three experienced entrepreneurs in banking and digital, its mission is to create a different, more virtuous digital bank model, in order to reposition the banking world at the heart of society and realities of our time.

To respond to social and environmental challenges, Onlyone is reinventing account management services, adapting them to contribute to the creation of a transparent and sustainable banking world. In addition to monitoring current banking operations, the digital bank allows its users to understand, monitor and reduce the environmental impact of their consumption thanks to an exclusive environmental impact score and tools to bring about change. It also allows them to help finance projects with a high social and environmental impact such as carbon offset projects or to fight against malnutrition, in a simple way and at no additional cost.

Onlyone is licensed as a payment service agent by the French Prudential Supervisory Authority (ACPR).

More information on https://onlyonecard.eu

About UNITLIFE

UNITLIFE is an innovative funding fund hosted by the United Nations dedicated to the fight against chronic malnutrition. Chronic malnutrition is a silent disease that affects one in five children worldwide. It causes irreversible impairment of physical, cognitive and immune development, as well as economic losses of up to 16% of this in the most affected countries.

UNITLIFE builds resilient and nutrition-sensitive food systems, while placing women at the heart of its approach. To do this, it relies on new technologies and innovative funding to improve the effectiveness of these interventions, and to mobilize additional resources for the cause.

UNITLIFE contributes to the achievement of the objective targeted by the World Health Organization, which is to reduce stunting by 40%. UNITLIFE supports the achievement of 10 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a strong focus on zero hunger (SDG 2), gender equality (SDG 5), and measures to combat it climate change (SDG13).

More information on www.unitlife.org