Robby Greenfield

Last updated
Robby Greenfield
Robby Greenfield.jpg
Born
Robert Thomas Greenfield IV

Atlanta, GA
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.S. Industrial Engineering (2015)
Alma materUniversity of Michigan Goizueta Business School (Emory University)
Occupation(s)businessman, activist, philanthropist, cryptoeconomist
Years active2013 - present
Known forFounder of Umoja Labs. Former Head of Social Impact of ConsenSys, co-founding its philanthropic arm, ConsenSys Social Impact.

Robert Thomas Greenfield IV (also known as Robby Greenfield) is an American businessman, activist, philanthropist and former college athlete. He is the founder of the financial technology company Umoja Labs, formerly known as Emerging Impact, [1] and serving as the former Head of Social Impact of ConsenSys, co-founded its philanthropic arm, ConsenSys Social Impact. [2]

Contents

Early life

Greenfield is from Atlanta, Georgia. He attended a four-year prep school at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, GA, where he played soccer and participated in track and field. [3] As a soccer player, he won the 2011 GHSA State Championships. [4] In Track & Field, Greenfield participated in the 100 meter, 4x100 mete r, and triple jump events, and won a State Championship as a sophomore . [3]

Education

Greenfield attended the University of Michigan and played on its varsity soccer team. [3]  He graduated in 2015 with a degree in industrial engineering. [5] While studying at the University of Michigan, Greenfield was a student activist, serving as the treasurer of the Black Student Union and a leader of the 2013 social media awareness campaign Being Black at Michigan (#BBUM). [5] [6]

Greenfield also earned an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University in 2020. [5]

Career

Greenfield’s career in the blockchain industry began when he developed an online cryptocurrency trading firm as a junior at the University of Michigan. [7]  He went on to co-found the app development company Nomsy, which developed and published a food discovery app with dietary information. [8] [9]

After graduating, Greenfield worked at companies such as Cisco, Amazon and Goldman Sachs. [10]

Greenfield was eventually appointed Head of Social Impact at ConsenSys. [11] He co-founded ConsenSys Social Impact, which leveraged blockchain technology and education to address the needs of underprivileged individuals globally. [2] [12] [13]

As a blockchain community advocate, Greenfield helped launch scholarship programs, including Black Girls CODE’s inaugural blockchain program. [2]

In 2018, Greenfield was appointed as the Chief of Technology for the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition after ConsenSys helped launch the initiative. [14]

In 2020, Greenfield returned to Emory University to teach at the university’s “Peer to Peer Master Class” sessions. [15]

In 2020, he founded Emerging Impact (now known as Umoja Labs) a fintech company developing blockchain products for areas with limited access through fiat and mobile money. [10] Its first product was Umoja, an open developer banking platform for mobile money. [1] [16] [17] Emerging Impact has partnered with major NGOs such as Hope for Haiti, Care International, and the Celo Foundation to support digital humanitarian aid programs around the world. [16] [18] [19] The company was named a winner of Inclusive Fintech 50’s 2022 cohort for their work in digitizing financial services for underserved communities. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akinyele Umoja</span> American educator and author

Akinyele Umoja is an American educator and author who specializes in African-American studies. As an activist, he is a founding member of the New Afrikan People's Organization and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. In April 2013, New York University Press published Umoja's book We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement. Currently, he is a Professor and Department Chair of the Department of African-American Studies at Georgia State University (GSU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethereum</span> Open-source blockchain computing platform

Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capitalization. It is open-source software.

A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Since each block contains information about the previous block, they effectively form a chain, with each additional block linking to the ones before it. Consequently, blockchain transactions are irreversible in that, once they are recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks.

"Fintech", a clipped compound of "financial technology", refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, including mobile banking, online lending platforms, digital payment systems, robo-advisors, and blockchain-based applications such as cryptocurrencies. Fintech companies include both startups and established technology and financial firms that aim to improve, complement, or replace traditional financial services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BitGive Foundation</span> American nonprofit organization

The BitGive Foundation is an American nonprofit organization that solicits bitcoin donations for use in charitable causes.

Veem, formerly Align Commerce, is a San Francisco–based online global payments platform founded in 2014 by Marwan Forzley and Aldo Carrascoso. The company uses a payment routing method they refer to as "multi-rail technology," where transactions are routed through different methods, or "rails", such as credit cards, checks, or cryptocurrency.

Marc P. Bernegger is a Swiss-based web entrepreneur and Fintech investor. He is known for founding Amiando. He is also known as an advocate of entrepreneurship, FinTech and cryptocurrency in Switzerland.

Hyperledger is an umbrella project of open source blockchains and related tools that the Linux Foundation started in December 2015. IBM, Intel, and SAP Ariba have contributed to support the collaborative development of blockchain-based distributed ledgers. It was renamed the Hyperledger Foundation in October 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Lubin (entrepreneur)</span> Canadian-American blockchain developer (born 1964)

Joseph Lubin is a Canadian-American businessman. He has founded and co-founded several companies, including the Swiss-based EthSuisse, contributing heavily to Ethereum, the decentralized cryptocurrency platform. Lubin is the founder of ConsenSys, a Brooklyn-based software production studio.

Consensys is a private blockchain software technology company founded by Joseph Lubin and based in Fort Worth.

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance was established in 2015, and is a part of the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. The Centre is a research and education institute focused on researching technology-enabled financial innovation and its interplay with policy, regulation, supervision and infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardano (blockchain platform)</span> Public blockchain platform

Cardano is a public blockchain platform. It is open-source and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof of stake. It can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, ADA.

Bitwala is a blockchain banking service, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, that was founded by Jörg von Minckwitz, Jan Goslicki, and Benjamin P. Jones in October 2015.

EOS.IO is a blockchain protocol based on the cryptocurrency EOS. The smart contract platform claims to eliminate transaction fees and also conduct millions of transactions per second. It was developed by the private company Block.one and launched in 2017. The platform was later released as open-source software.

The Decree No. 8 ‘On the Development of Digital Economy’ is a presidential decree in Belarus that created favourable legal conditions for the IT sector, stimulating the inflow of international investments and local startups development. The idea of the document was proposed and formulated by the High-Tech Park, a core organization in Belarusian IT. The Decree was signed on 21 December 2017, and came in force on 28 March 2018. Decree No. 8 adopted the widespread institutions of UK law like convertible bonds and non-compete agreements, but also has preserved some features of continental law based on the principles of good faith and reasonableness, thus creating a favourable environment for starting and running a business.

Diem was a permissioned blockchain-based stablecoin payment system proposed by the American social media company Facebook. The plan also included a private currency implemented as a cryptocurrency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Cassatt</span> American journalist and entrepreneur (born 1991)

Amanda Claire Cassatt is an American entrepreneur, marketing executive and author. She was also the chief marketing officer at ConsenSys from 2016 until July 2019. Cassatt is the founder and CEO of Serotonin, a Web3 services company.

Decentralized finance provides financial instruments and services through smart contracts on a programmable, permissionless blockchain. This approach reduces the need for intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks. DeFi platforms enable users to lend or borrow funds, speculate on asset price movements using derivatives, trade cryptocurrencies, insure against risks, and earn interest in savings-like accounts. The DeFi ecosystem is built on a layered architecture and highly composable building blocks. While some applications offer high interest rates, they carry high risks. Coding errors and hacks are a common challenge in DeFi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MetaMask</span> Software cryptocurrency wallet

MetaMask is a software cryptocurrency wallet used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. It allows a user to access their Ethereum wallet through a browser extension or mobile app, which can then be used to interact with decentralized applications. MetaMask is developed by Consensys, a blockchain software company focusing on Ethereum-based tools and infrastructure.

References

  1. 1 2 Dorisca, Samantha (2021-12-06). "Emerging Impact Raises $1.5M Round To Demystify Decentralized Finance". AfroTech. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  2. 1 2 3 McLymore, Arriana (2019-10-31). "This Team Lead is Building the Intersection of Blockchain and Social Impact". AfroTech. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  3. 1 2 3 "Wolverines Add Four Student-Athletes for 2011 Season". University of Michigan Athletics. 2011-02-23. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  4. ↑ "Congratulations to the 2011-2012 GHSA State Soccer Champions!". ghsa.net. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  5. 1 2 3 "When a student activist goes pro". Michigan Today. 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  6. ↑ "With Campus Racism, How Can College Presidents Get It Right?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  7. ↑ "Students and alumni cash in on global bitcoin 'gold-rush'". michigandaily.com. 2014-02-02.
  8. ↑ "Volume 68 Number 6". almanac.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  9. ↑ Tech, Blacks In (2017-01-16). "BIT Startup Of The Week: Nomsy - "Bringing you the food you want and need"". Blacks In Technology. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  10. 1 2 Obsidi (2022-05-04). "Black Millennials: The New Generation Shaking Up The Tech Industry". Obsidi. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  11. ↑ "In Venezuela, Cryptocurrency Is an Oppressor and a Lifeline". PCMAG. 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  12. ↑ "Blockchain's Next Frontier: Saving the Planet (and Possibly Pandas, Too)". Observer. 2019-09-28. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  13. ↑ "FEATURE-Scan on exit: can blockchain save Moldova's children from traffickers?". Reuters. 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  14. ↑ Hempel, Jessi. "How Refugees Are Helping Create Blockchain's Brand New World". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  15. ↑ "Emory Students Innovating in a Crisis |Innovation Center | Emory University". hatchery.emory.edu. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  16. 1 2 "Emerging Impact Is Bringing Decentralized Finance to Mobile Money Networks". 500 Global. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  17. ↑ "Fintech founder Robert Greenfield shares tips for new entrepreneurs". Mogul Millennial. 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  18. ↑ Karr, Larisa (2022-02-11). "150K in digital currency donated to help feed Haitian families, local merchants". The Haitian Times. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  19. ↑ "CARE tests cryptocurrency vouchers for aid delivery in Kenya, Ecuador". devex.com. 2021-08-13.
  20. ↑ "2022 Winners". Inclusive Fintech 50. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.