Mercy Relief uses Blockchain Traceability Solution by DiMuto for Its Humanitarian Crisis Response Amidst COVID-19

[PRESS RELEASE]

Mercy Relief uses Blockchain Traceability Solution by DiMuto for Its Humanitarian Crisis Response Amidst COVID-19

• Mercy Relief, a Singapore-based disaster relief agency, will be using the Blockchain Traceability Solution from DiMuto, a trade technology solutions company, to gain visibility and traceability for humanitarian crises response amidst COVID-19

• Active across 26 countries, Mercy Relief is Singapore’s only homegrown independent non-governmental humanitarian charity. Since 2003, Mercy Relief has responded to more than 84 human tragedies with more than $44.6 million in relief and implemented over 65 post disaster projects and impacted an aggregate of over 2.5 million lives

• Travel restrictions and lockdowns due to the ongoing pandemic have created a lack of visibility for international crisis responses, making humanitarian accountability challenging

• DiMuto traceability solutions will help Mercy Relief track humanitarian relief aid items to ensure receipt by intended beneficiaries, creating transparency and building trust with on-the-ground local partners as well as donors

• The collaboration is part of DiMuto’s CSR efforts and commitment in continuing to create positive impact during the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnership demonstrates value of DiMuto solutions and ability to work across industries where there is disconnected visibility of supply chains and operations

Singapore, 26^th October 2020 – Mercy Relief, Singapore’s leading independent disaster relief agency, will be using the Blockchain Traceability Solution from DiMuto, a trade technology solutions company providing end-to-end supply chain visibility platform for agri-food businesses, to track and trace their international relief work. Mercy Relief is Singapore’s only homegrown independent non-governmental humanitarian charity. Established in 2003, the charity organization responds to immediate disasters in the Asian region, as well as organizing longer-term developmental projects that focus on water & sanitation, shelter, sustainable livelihoods, healthcare and education. Over the past decade, Mercy Relief has executed 84 separate immediate relief operations with more than $44.6 million in relief, as well as implemented 65 post disaster projects in over 26 countries, impacting over 2.5 million lives. Mercy Relief responds within 72 hours of a disaster, delivering emergency aid to affected communities. The agency strives to work with local partners with proper financial accountability and ensure no duplication with the work done by other NGOs so that affected individuals and communities fully benefit. As part of the partnership with DiMuto, all aid items will be tracked using DiMuto’s traceability solutions.  With its full-fledged traceability solution, DiMuto is able to create visibility for the entire disaster relief operation – from purchasing of relief supplies to receipt of supplies by affected communities. “Travel disruptions brought on by COVID-19 have made it difficult for our team to be physically present at disaster zones. Partnering with DiMuto helps us maintain transparency and accountability in all our disaster response efforts and assures timely relief to communities most in need,” said Carol Lee, Executive Director of Mercy Relief. Aid items will be digitalized using DiMuto QR labels and tracked on the DiMuto Platform. Relevant shipping and transaction information will be associated with the relevant aid item. This means that Mercy Relief will be able to see the exact resources and documentation information for every single relief effort, down to individual aid items. To ascertain that funds provided to local partners in disaster areas are being used to help affected families and communities, the receipt of aid by affected communities will also be tracked via the DiMuto Receiver App. All records made on the blockchain-powered DiMuto Platform will be immutable and verified, safeguarding accountability and transparency for the entire disaster relief effort. “We are glad to join forces with another Singapore-based organization like Mercy Relief and support their international humanitarian efforts. Similar to the agri-food industry, internationally coordinated humanitarian projects often face challenges from a lack of visibility and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic. This is where trust and transparency can be established using DiMuto Trade Solutions,” said Gary Loh, founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. Recognising the potential for DiMuto’s solution to support Mercy Relief’s humanitarian efforts, Enterprise Singapore facilitated an introduction between the two Singapore organisations in August 2020. According to Mr. Lee Yee Fung, Director, ICM & Digitalization, Enterprise Singapore, “Through partnerships, Singapore companies can harness the strengths and capabilities of each other to solve complex challenges and improve business outcomes.  Companies can also provide innovative offerings to customers and broaden their relevance across sectors. We look forward to supporting more strategic partnerships between local enterprises that support their respective business goals.” Enterprise Singapore has been supporting DiMuto in their internationalisation efforts and development of technical capabilities. The partnership with Mercy Relief will be the first footprint of the trade solutions company in international humanitarian aid. To date, DiMuto has digitized over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agri-food trades. With presence in eight countries including China, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, the collaboration with Mercy Relief will expand use cases for the company’s trade solutions platform.   – end-   About Mercy Relief Headquartered in Singapore, Mercy Relief was established in 2003 to respond to human tragedies and disasters in the Asia Pacific. Today, we are Singapore’s leading independent disaster relief agency with dedicated leadership, capacity building expertise and an affiliate network operating across the entire disaster management cycle. Mercy Relief provides emergency aid within 72 hours of an international appeal in the aftermath of a disaster. The objective of our longer-term sustainable development programmes is to uplift and empower communities in five key areas: water and sanitation, shelter, sustainable livelihoods, healthcare, and education. For the past 17 years, Mercy Relief has responded to more than 84 human tragedies with more than $44.6 million in relief across 26 countries. We have implemented more than 65 post disaster projects and impacted over 2.5 million lives. For more information about Mercy Relief, please visit https://www.mercyrelief.org   About DiMuto DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce. The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution, a 4-part trade technology solution combining blockchain, AI and IoT, creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over eight countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by chief executive officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.   ## For media queries, please contact: Ain Hamzah Mercy Relief E: ain.hamzah@mercyrelief.org HuiMin Lee DiMuto E: huimin@dimuto.io