South African Company Receiving Crypto-currency Donations To Fight Covid-19
[PHOTO/ COURTESY]
South African Crypto company, iCE3 Exchange is now receiving donations from well-wishers through cryptocurrency to help the less fortunate in the society.
Working with the Mayor of Matlosana, Cllr. Maetu Kgaile and a local toilet paper manufacturer, iCE3 exchange has launched a project that distributes tissue papers to the less fortunate.
“I originally hail from the City of Matlosana and when the effects of the lockdown became apparent the team and I did some brainstorming to see how we can help alleviate the impact of this pandemic locally, in some small way. South Africans are resilient people and it is a privilege to be a part of this project,” says Gareth Grobler, iCE3 Founder & CEO.
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iCE3 will be donating toilet paper on a weekly basis in Matlosana and hope to increase the volume and frequency over the coming weeks. The first 1000 rolls were collected on the morning of March 30 by the Mayors’ representatives and distributed to pensioners queuing to collect their social grants administered by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
“We really appreciate the very much needed assistance in this time of crisis. Our people need it and it is wonderful to see such cooperation during these desperate times. I want to personally thank everyone involved, especially the kind donations from all over the world,” said Mayor of Matlosana, Cllr. Maetu Kgaile.
The company says that administering an international campaign of this kind would be extremely difficult using traditional payment channels or even established charitable organisations.
“Even payment providers such as PayPal, which often waives fees for charitable causes, does not operate equally in every country. iCE3 decided to take swift action and reach out to local authorities in order to collaborate and ensure the initiative is executed thoughtfully and with the necessary care considering the nature of the covid-19 crisis,” said the company in a statement.
As of Monday, April 6, 2020, a total of 0.02488723 BTC (Ksh18,000) had been donated and the iCE3 team delivered rolls of toilet paper to the Elandshaven Methodist Homes situated in Klerksdorp to assist the elderly, who are among the most vulnerable during this covid-19 crisis. Thus far some of the donors aside from iCE3 include BitcoinZAR, BitcoinByte and TradeCrypto.
iCE3 will not be charging any fees or commissions to convert the cryptocurrency donations into Rands – South Africa’s local currency.
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