Empowa, an alternative blockchain-based home-financing platform for emerging markets, has joined forces with The Cardano Foundation to launch a limited edition NFT collection. This collaboration aims to celebrate the real-world impact of Cardano while helping financially excluded families own their homes. The purchase of Cardano Summit NFTs contributes to the funding of affordable, green, and climate-resilient housing projects in Africa. Through this initiative, Empowa and Cardano are empowering communities with NFT technology.

Financing affordable houses

Empowa, launched in 2021, their business model sees them partner with housing developers to finance the purchase of affordable and climate-resilient houses in Africa. Their first homes were financed in Mozambique a country notable for low home ownership and high mortgage rates.

Empowa helps developers to raise affordable funding for the off-take of their homes. This is achieved by providing their utility token EMP, a Cardano native token, as collateral for a portion of the loan. The EMP is raised through the sale of NFTs. These NFTS lock up the collateral required for developers to secure affordable funding from institutional investors. Owners of the NFT receive monthly rewards for supporting the development of these affordable houses.

The official Cardano Summit NFT

Each year the Cardano Foundation launches the official summit NFT to commemorate the event. This year they were looking to partner with a project that could deliver an NFT that provided a positive impact. With this in mind, the Empowa proposal was chosen.

The limited edition Cardano Summit NFTs are different to Empowa’s standard NFT as they do not provide any ongoing rewards, instead, they can be viewed as a sustainable donation that allows for ongoing impact. Each purchase contributes to the funding of affordable, green, and climate-resilient homes in Africa.

By tracking the funds raised through the Ada handle $empowa.summit, buyers can directly witness the impact of their contributions. Empowa is committed to transparency and will soon provide an exclusive dashboard for NFT holders, offering insights into the real-world outcomes of their support. This transparency further strengthens the connection between NFTs and their visible impact on communities.

The Cardano Summit NFT collection is built on the concept of a trading card game. The full collection comprises 30 unique NFTs, each mint unlocks a pack of 5 NFTs. Collectors can build sets consisting of NFTs from each of the five phases, representing different continents. Once a collector possesses all 30 unique NFTs within a single wallet, they will receive a Virtual World NFT, symbolising the completion of the collection. It is also possible to mint these NFTs as part of a pack.

The Super Rare Virtual World NFT represents the culmination of five phases in the Empowa and Cardano collaboration. Holders of this NFT not only have a valuable digital asset but also the opportunity to participate in exciting prizes. They will be entered into a draw sponsored by Empowa and NMKR, with the grand prize being a fully sponsored trip to next year's Cardano Summit, valued at up to $5,000. Participation in the NFT sales ends on December 31st.

Empowa has promised they will match the funds from the NFT sales to raise the impact of the initiative.