Ashton Kutcher took to Twitter to announce that his venture capital firm Sound Ventures is proud to work alongside Ripple to support Ripple for Good, a “corporate social impact program that will support mission-driven organizations and initiatives.” He made this announcement on September 27th, 2018.
Proud of #SoundVentures’ work with @Ripple to support critical causes around the world. #RippleforGood! https://t.co/HKNclxc4S7
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) September 27, 2018
Ripple on the website mentioned that: “We’re thrilled to announce Ripple for Good, a corporate social impact program that will support mission-driven organizations and initiatives with the potential to expand financial inclusion worldwide.” This program is said to focus on STEM, FinTech education and financial literacy as key drivers of a new and increasingly inclusive global digital economy.
Ripple is with this programme is formalizing the company’s long-term commitment to mission- and business-driven social impact, starting with an additional allocation of $25 million in the offering. This programme builds on the momentum of more than $80 million in donations that the company has made this year.
Ripple’s website further mentioned about the programme:
“In education, we’re partnering with leading universities around the world to support increased research and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency and FinTech through the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), launched in June.”
Kutcher partnered with Ripple in May 2018 to exhibit how easy it is to transfer value using cryptocurrencies to the mainstream audience, particularly XRP, Ripple’s cryptocurrency token.
He gifted Ellen DeGeneres, the talk show host $4 million in XRP for her birthday. The gift was made on-air in a matter of seconds and was immediately earmarked for Ellen’s wildlife charity.
Kutcher, whose Sound Ventures centers on the technology industry, founded the Venture Capital firm with investor and entertainment magnate Guy Oseary.
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in September 2018, Kutcher and Effie Epstein, the firm’s managing partner, explained the kind of study they apply before choosing to support an entrepreneurial enterprise. Kutcher said the key is remaining flexible and opportunistic because “the next great change isn’t going to fall perfectly into a PowerPoint.”
Epstein explained:
“What’s scary to people? What’s a little bit uncomfortable to think about as an idea or to have a conversation around?”
With the new project Ripple hopes to bring something new and different to the ecosystem to help solve determined challenges. “Our goal is to make the benefits of a revolutionized global payments system more broadly accessible and available to everyone,” Ripple website read.
Chris Larsen, Ripple co-founder and executive chairman said on the website:
“We have to stop being self-righteous disruptors and instead focus on building things that solve real-world problems. If we focus the blockchain movement on that, over two billion underbanked people can become full economic citizens.”
Ripple said that to encounter the various obstacles the team will look to partners to create and accelerate the impact. Another organization that Ripple team is “fortunate” to be able to turn to is RippleWorks, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Chris Larsen and Doug Galen.
The nonprofit organization has a good track record for identifying, funding, social ventures across multiple sectors. It also has good experience in financial inclusion.
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