Meet the Empowa Team

An interview with Phil Lewis
Co-founder of Empowa

 

Phil’s drive is to use his extensive technological knowledge and skills for applicable solutions to the betterment of humanity [ Phil Lewis | LinkedIn]. Phil is now ready for the next gear; use the potential made available by Cardano to make impact through innovative approaches on a large scale and to enable the creation of inclusive wealth for excluded communities in Africa.

So Phil, what paths would provide the most interesting opportunities for the Empowa Platform in the nearby future on Cardano? 

For me the most exciting technological developments happening on Cardano are those that allow people, businesses and organisations to build reputations and demonstrate that they can be reliable partners (financially or otherwise) without having centralised institutions, such as governments or banks, owning and verifying their information. By allowing people to control their own decentralised identity that is tied to records stored (or proved) on the blockchain, Cardano can become the most inclusive decentralised financial system that leaves no one behind, with Empowa delivering on the ground affordable and green houses as one of the paths to enable that inclusion.

What could be the potential obstacles along the way that you may foresee, and how do you think the Empowa team and Platform will be able to overcome those hurdles?

Well, I would say that the potential deriving from this technological innovation is abundant, yet the amount of implementing experts is still scarce. We have a strong and small team with different competences that complement one another, but for the very specific technical expertise we seek to ally strategically with like-minded organisations that are on the same path as Empowa and would like to partner along the way. 

Is there a certain destination to this journey? And if not, what would be the first mountains where you would want to place a flag?

I would like to say no, for the mere reason that I hope it’s bigger than I could ever imagine from my limited singular sight and perspective. My personal Mount Everest would be the full decentralisation of the Empowa Platform so it is self-sustaining, without the need for intermediaries such as the Empowa team. Enabling true inclusive empowerment by making ourselves redundant is an accomplishment to aspire to. Until we reach that top, our intermediate stations are the mere instruments needed to get there for Empowa, like our NFTs, the ISPO, piloting and pioneering through prototypes.

Reference
UN-Our Common Agenda (2020), 12 commitments, with first being Leave no one behind, including the commitment to reinforce adequate housing. www.un.org/en/content/common-agenda-report