Meet Todd, Tom, and Owen. Three friends who all met whilst working and living abroad in Cambodia. With experience working in tech and developmental organizations, and a love of nature, Fauna NFT was created organically.
During a weekend getaway to a not-for-profit organization’s eco-stay in the Cambodian Cardamom Mountains, they began to formulate ideas on how consumer purchases could be used to fund conservation… in the new digital age.
It wasn’t until another trip, whilst kayaking down the Mekong River in search of spotting the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin that they had the opportunity to fine-tune how NFTs could be used to fund conservation. The idea was brought to fruition in October of 2021 when The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched its ‘NFTs for Development in Asia competition.’
The ADB is a financial institution that provides “loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development” (ADB NFTs for Development in Asia). In this competition, the ADB was searching for proposals for how NFTs could be used to help them meet their operational priorities in their Strategy 2030, priorities such as “addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities, or tackling climate change, building resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability”. The Fauna team got to work, drafting a proposal that was then submitted, shortlisted, and chosen to pitch to a panel of industry leaders and decision-makers. In November, against a field of 99 other competitors from around the world, the judges saw the potential in Fauna NFT and the project won the competition!
In February, the Fauna team was also proud to onboard its first staff member, Conservation Advisor, and Operations Manager, Casey. This key hire expanded Fauna’s capacity, ensuring our collection will be artistic, realistic – and importantly, will accurately represent the species most in need of funding.
Currently, Fauna is working on building the initial launch of NFTs (soon to be announced) and building partnerships with organizations that can utilize the funds raised to create sustainable solutions for conservation.
We look forward to sharing the rest of the journey with you and creating lasting change in conservation. Please give us a like, share, and follow our journey!