Gravity

The ILO estimates that only 17% of Syrian refugees in Turkey seeking employment are formally employed. One of the reasons behind this is that refugees lack locally recognised credentials attesting to their skills and education. Without credentials that can be trusted and verified, employers cannot determine whether an applicant is suited to a job and educational institutions cannot offer  appropriate training that meets the demands of the local labour market. 

Gravity’s solution allows refugees to create trusted, private and portable digital identities based on skills and educational credentials certified by local educational institutions. They can then share these credentials with employers and educational institutions to access educational and employment opportunities best suited to them. Overtime, they can enrich these digital identities with additional verifiable data to build verifiable data trails such as an employment track record and credit history  and access additional services which can contribute to their economic inclusion and build self-reliance.

Of the 4 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, only 17% seeking employment report having formal jobs. A substantial proportion of Syrian refugees in Turkey are thus either unemployed or in the informal sector. One of the reasons for which refugees struggle to enter the formal labour market is because they lack credentials which can attest to their skills and education and that are recognised locally. Without credentials that can be trusted and verified, employers cannot determine whether an applicant is suited to a job. Vocational training organizations possess valuable data about refugees’ skills and education and could help employers identify suitable candidates. However there are no existing standardised, cost-effective and efficient data formats and sharing frameworks to facilitate this process.

This lack of standardized credentials and data sharing processes at multiple levels therefore reduces refugees’ ability to enter the formal labour market and, in the longer run, reduces their chances of economic integration and resilience. 

A detailed overview of the problem can be found in this article detailing our field research with the affected communities and stakeholders in 2019. https://medium.com/gravity-earth/learnings-from-the-sdg-impact-accelerator-90abe6c13669)

Gravity allows refugees to build digital identities based on educational and skills data that is certified by trusted entities such as vocational training organizations. They can then share these credentials with employers to prove their qualifications and suitability for a job. They can also share these credentials with vocational training organizations and educational institutions who can then use this data to monitor their impact and offer programs reflective of refugees’ needs and the labour markets’ demands. Additionally, these digital identities are portable and persistent, meaning that refugees may continue accessing and using them in case of future displacement. 

This is made possible through Gravity’s self-sovereign identity solution that allows users to make digital identity wallets. The solution relies on blockchain technology to ensure that all data transacted is verifiable and traceable, a decentralized data storage to maintain  a high degree of privacy and security for all users and widely used data standards and formats which make data sharing easy for all stakeholders.

Gravity’s solution is inclusive by being accessible through multiple interfaces such as a Progressive Web Application (PWA) on smartphones, USSD on basic/feature phones and a web browser-based Portal for organizations issuing and requesting credentials. 

Our solution primarily serves refugees and other displaced individuals that struggle to find employment in Turkey because they lack credentials which can prove their qualifications to employers. When employers refuse to hire refugees that lack such credentials, refugees in turn are forced to take on underpaid, irregular and often illegal employment in the informal sector.

By using our solution, refugees can build a trusted and verifiable record of their educational and employment history on the basis of which they can find legal, fair and dignified employment. They are also able to receive training that is tailored to their needs and that of the labour market rather than enrolling in courses which are not relevant to their background. Entering the labour market is the first step in helping refugees integrate in the economy and community of their host society, contributing to their financial inclusion and self-reliance in the longer run. 

We are committed to following a human-centered design approach and building a product which is fit for purpose. To do so, we conducted field research and user consultations in Gaziantep, Turkey with refugees, vocational training organizations and employers in 2019 as a first assessment of their needs  which was used to build a MVP. This was followed by iterative testing of the MVP with beta users in Turkey, followed by a proof of concept with the United Nations Development Program in 2020. Feedback from users was directly channelled into improving the design and user experience of our product. WhatsApp groups consisting of beta testers from the community in Gaziantep also serve as a channel for feedback regarding new features.

More details regarding the feedback obtained from partners and refugees can be found in research published by Oxford Centre for Technology and Development & International Federation of Red Cross & Crescent Societies: https://static1.squarespace.co..., and 

Our published case study: https://drive.google.com/file/... 

Turkey hosts 4 million Syrian refugees of which only 17% seeking employment are currently formally employed. Finding jobs within the formal sector has become even more difficult with the advent of th COVID 19 pandemic because of reduced opportunities in the local economy and reduced social contact. User controlled, privacy preserving and inclusive digital identities are the first step in bringing the large proportion of refugees that are currently excluded from the formal labour market into the fold of the local economy and society. This solution also improves the agency and control that refugees exercise over their own data, which is crucial in acquiring skills necessary to thrive in the digital economy.

We have piloted the solution in Gaziantep, Turkey in 2020 as a micro-vendor to the United Nations Development Program. The pilot involved two local, publicly-funded educational institutions - Gaziantep Chamber of Industry (GSO) and Gaziantep Chamber of Artisans and Craftsmen (GESOB) and 7 local companies seeking to employ refugees. The pilot helped validate the value proposition of the product for all key stakeholders and we are continuing our collaboration with the organizations to onboard additional refugees and validate key aspects of the business model. 

Gravity’s self-sovereign identity solution is based on a set of underlying technologies which when combined are uniquely positioned to align the incentives of and deliver value to all stakeholders in the local economy. 

Without Gravity’s solution, existing data about refugees remains unused with educational organizations and cannot be leveraged either by refugees to access jobs and other services, by educational institutions to improve their programs and impact, nor by local companies in need of skilled labour. 

While other solutions for data sharing in this context could also be implemented, our solution is innovative because it:

a). Facilitates data sharing in a manner which gives refugees control and agency over their own data while preserving their privacy, in contrast to a solution where data about refugees in controlled and shared only by organizations that collect it, and

b). Is plug-and-play in that it provides a seamless and standards-based approach to data sharing that can be scaled rapidly for use by multiple stakeholders. The alternative is a solution where all organizations that wish to share data between each other have to establish individual processes and agree on standards specific to each case.

Furthermore, Gravity’s solution results in positive spillovers such as:

• Allowing local educational organizations to take a data driven approach to program delivery which in turn improves their impact, and 

• Creating opportunities for refugees to access further services such as financial products, housing and health in the future as their digital identities become enriched with additional relevant data. 

Our solution currently serves 2000 people across Turkey and Kenya. 

In 1 year, we would like to onboard an additional 50,000 users beyond Gaziantep to other regions of the country. 

In 5 years, we aim to have 1 million people using our solution in Turkey. To do so we will integrate with other service providers such as lenders, utility companies and public institutions which can use digital identity to extend services to refugees. In addition,  we also aim to offer the service to other lower income and vulnerable groups beyond displaced populations also struggling to access opportunities and services. 

Aside from Turkey, we aim to have an additional 2 million users in Kenya through our digital identity for cash transfer delivery and supply chain financing deployments.

At Gravity, we measure our impact through quantitative KPIs and qualitative feedback from our end users and partners. 

In the context of our solution in Turkey, we measure our impact through the following KPIs: 

• Number of refugees in employment (both formal and informal) in a 3 month period after having created digital identities, (SDG 8, indicator 8.5.2)

• Number of refugees in training with our partners (SDG 8, Indicator 8.5) 

• Type of employment contract (duration, conditions and benefits) for employed refugees 

• Average number of days taken between last training received and job offered per refugee, 

• Average cost of training incurred by educational institutions (partners) per refugee, 

• Average number of data requests by employers and educational institutions per refugee per month

In addition to this, we also regularly obtain qualitative feedback from all stakeholders to keep our focus on human-centered design, measure user satisfaction and users’ perception regarding agency and control over their own digital identity.

10 people full time. We also have 2-3 field staff working with us when deploying our product in the field.

We are a small but diverse team of 10 from seven different countries. We have proven expertise in software development, cryptography, product development, UX design and project management, with team members recruited from reputable organizations such as the German Development Agency (GIZ) and Société Generale. Our expertise in our relative domains and diverse backgrounds makes us uniquely positioned to transform a sophisticated self-sovereign identity protocol into an easy to use and accessible product for the communities we are working in.  

We have a strong commitment to human centered design and the understanding that perceptions about a product dealing with data about vulnerable populations need to be managed in an inclusive and transparent manner. We therefore have team members of Syrian origin that have undergone the same experience as our target users in Turkey. This not only allows our team to design a product that is reflective and respectful of the needs of this community, but also to build trust among the community members and local clients. 

Our leadership team currently consists of 4 members of diverse age groups ranging from 25 to 45 years and expertise (from finance to bilateral development agencies) and an equal gender split. We are committed to maintaining this diversity in perspectives because it allows us to assess our strategy and direction holistically. Our leadership team takes into account opinions from the whole team through monthly 1 on 1 catch ups with each team member. This ensures that the direction the company takes in terms of the product, business model and strategy are reflective of the expertise of each team member. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive and diverse leadership team as our company grows. 

Gravity is committed to enabling access to essential services for populations that are excluded from an increasingly digital information economy. We believe that ad hoc approaches to enabling essential service delivery, while effective in the short run, do not have the transformative potential nor catalytic power to enable long-term, sustainable and dignified financial inclusion. 

We are applying to Solve because we believe that this Solve Challenge strongly echoes our mission of creating systemic change. Being a Solver would expose our team to a community of entrepreneurs, mentors, academics and developers committed to the same goal by helping us refine our product, business model and advocacy to their full potential. 

Additionally, as mentioned previously, one of the barriers for us is managing perceptions around our product that deals with the data of vulnerable populations. This is especially difficult to manage as a 2.5 year old start-up. Given the MIT community’s trusted reputation, having our company, product and business model audited by and working closely with experts from this community will help us address these perceptions and build our own reputation as transparent, trustworthy and privacy preserving. We are confident that the Solve community’s expertise will be invaluable to us because we previously applied to a Solve Challenge and even though we were not selected, took into account the valuable feedback we received which proved to be decisive in determining the direction of our product and business. 

We would be very keen on getting support regarding our open sourcing strategy and how to integrate this into our business model to remain competitive in terms of pricing regarding proprietary components while being on our path to becoming financially sustainable and finding product-market fit. Additionally, we are aware of Blockcert’s close association with MIT who could provide valuable inputs to us from their experience with education credentialing frameworks and standards.

We would be very interested in exploring opportunities for collaboration with the MIT Refugee Action Hub (ReACT) that is also working towards refugee education. 

In the next year, we would like to partner with more organizations providing education and vocational training to refugees in Turkey, especially the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Organization for Migration since they have the widest reach in terms of refugees supported. We would also like to partner with organizations such as Na’amal which allow refugees to earn a living while working remotely. In the next 5 years, we wish to partner with service providers such as the PTT (Turkish Postal Service) and financial institutions to help enable access to affordable credit for refugee entrepreneurs. 

Gravity’s solution allows refugees to create digital identities based on skills and educational credentials certified by local educational institutions. Refugees can then share these credentials with employers and educational institutions to access educational and employment opportunities best suited to them. Overtime, refugees can enrich these digital identities with additional verifiable data to build verifiable data trails such as an employment track record and credit history and access additional services which can contribute to their economic inclusion and build self-reliance.

The Andan Prize for Innovation in Refugee Inclusion would allow us to:

a). Reach more refugees with our solution: We currently project onboarding 50,000 refugees in Turkey with our existing resources in 1 year. The Prize will enable us to go beyond this initial target and enable access to dignified and meaningful employment reach potentially double this amount. This will be possible by covering part of the project management and system maintenance, storage and support costs, 

b). Customise our product further to suit our clients’ needs and the Turkish market: this involves developing a dashboard to allow educational institutions to monitor their impact and follow up on beneficiaries, customising user interfaces to be more inclusive of particularly vulnerable individuals such as those with disabilities and adding a feature to allow employers to filter job applicants by their suitability for a job, and

c). Hire additional female team members from the communities in which we are working in Turkey to help build trust in our company and further our emphasis on human-centered design. 

Gravity’s solution allows refugees to create blockchain based digital identities based on skills and educational credentials certified by local educational institutions. Refugees can then share these credentials with employers and educational institutions to access educational and employment opportunities best suited to them. Overtime, refugees can enrich these digital identities with additional verifiable data to build verifiable data trails such as an employment track record and credit history and access additional services which can contribute to their economic inclusion and build self-reliance.

The GSR Prize would allow us to: 

a). Reach more refugees with our solution: We currently project onboarding 50,000 refugees in Turkey with our existing resources in 1 year. The Prize will enable us to go beyond this initial target and enable access to dignified and meaningful employment reach potentially double this amount. This will be possible by covering part of the project management and system maintenance, storage and support costs, 

b). Customise our product further to suit our clients’ needs and the Turkish market: this involves developing a dashboard to allow educational institutions to monitor their impact and follow up on beneficiaries, customising user interfaces to be more inclusive of particularly vulnerable individuals such as those with disabilities and adding a feature to allow employers to filter job applicants by their suitability for a job, and

c). Hire additional female team members from the communities in which we are working in Turkey to help build trust in our company and further our emphasis on human-centered design.