The special Startups of The Year 2024 Winners Interview series is a celebration of all this year’s Tech Champions. You’ve earned it! The HackerNoon community can’t wait to learn more about your journey!
https://hackernoon.com/startups/industry/defi?stup=66f31bf56ea4677e23db9b3e&embedable=true
Tell us about you.GGEZ1 is a Web3 blockchain ecosystem co-founded by fintech veterans Mutaz Majdoub and Mohammed Shawamreh, dedicated to transforming global finance by tokenizing sustainability infrastructure. Our mission is to make it easy and fun for everyone to invest in sustainability on Web3, while our vision is to create a superior form of currency—a sustainability-backed cryptocurrency that promotes environmental health and financial inclusion.
Tell us how your startup is changing the world.GGEZ1 addresses two critical global challenges: the $6 trillion annual shortfall in sustainability infrastructure investment and financial exclusion in emerging markets. By tokenizing real-world sustainability assets and creating asset-backed cryptocurrency (GG ReFi Coin), we’re enabling inclusive, transparent, and profitable investment opportunities, fostering environmental stewardship and economic equity.
What sets you apart from the competition?Unlike conventional blockchains or stablecoins, GGEZ1 is the only L1 ecosystem solely focused on tokenizing sustainability assets in emerging markets. We integrate Regenerative Finance (ReFi) principles, utilize cutting-edge Cosmos SDK infrastructure, and are governed as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), ensuring transparency, community ownership, and ethical investment.
What does it mean for you to win this title?Winning “Startup of the Year” is a tremendous validation of our team’s hard work and our mission to democratize sustainability investing. It reaffirms our belief that ethical, impactful finance has a crucial place in Web3 and motivates us to further our vision with renewed vigor and global partnerships.
What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to set out for this mission?Our team is driven by deep experience and a shared passion for impact. Founders Mutaz and Mohammed bring over two decades of fintech innovation, having successfully launched platforms across 10+ global markets. Our engineers, business developers, and advisors are united by a culture of innovation, transparency, and a commitment to using finance for good.
Looking back, what milestone was the biggest turning point for your startup?The biggest milestone was launching our blockchain testnet and running a real simulation of the GG ReFi Coin for over a year. This validated our tech stack and model. Reaching the semi-finals in the Startup World Cup and Leap 2024 Rocket Fuel competitions also brought global recognition, opening doors for partnerships and funding. We also got listed on Coin Market Cap and the coin is trading at 120,000 daily.
What’s one valuable lesson you learned this year that you’d pass on to other startups?Simplicity scales. Complex ideas must be communicated clearly to drive adoption. This year we streamlined our messaging, focusing on the narrative of “investing in sustainability made easy,” which resonated especially well with Gen Z and emerging market users.
How do you envision your industry evolving in the coming years, and how will your startup stay ahead?Tokenization of real-world assets is set to redefine financial markets, with estimates suggesting a $16 trillion market by 2030. GGEZ1 is at the forefront by specializing in sustainability tokenization for emerging markets, combining advanced Web3 interoperability, AI-driven GameFi applications, and localized infrastructure to maintain leadership.
How do you or your company intend to embrace the responsibility of this title in 2025?We plan to amplify our platform’s impact by launching the GG ReFi Coin on public networks, supporting sustainability startups via our Global Sustainability Innovation Launchpad, and engaging communities through grassroots campaigns, education, and DAO-led governance.
What goals are you looking forward to accomplishing in 2025?Key 2025 goals include:
Supporting 10+ sustainability token projects via our launchpad
2024 has been crazy, with all the new techs, and all the geopolitics fluctuations. What are the impacts of these to your startup, and to your industry as a whole? Be as brief or as detailed as you like.2024’s geopolitical shifts and tech breakthroughs reaffirmed the need for decentralized, resilient financial systems. We adapted by strengthening our regulatory frameworks, refining tokenomics, and deepening engagement with Gen Z—whose preference for ethical, decentralized platforms like GGEZ1 continues to grow.
We would love your feedback on HackerNoon as a tech publication! How has your experience been with us?HackerNoon does a great job spotlighting tech innovations that matter. Its decentralized ethos and commitment to authentic stories resonate with the Web3 and ReFi communities. We appreciate the platform for empowering startups to share their journey and impact.
Any words of wisdom you’d like to share with us?Build for real-world problems, not just hype. Web3’s promise lies in solving foundational issues—climate change, financial exclusion, and systemic inequality. If your startup can address any of these while being user-friendly and transparent, success will follow.
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About HackerNoon’s Startups of The YearStartups of The Year 2024 is HackerNoon’s flagship community-driven event celebrating startups, technology, and the spirit of innovation. Currently in its third iteration, the prestigious Internet award recognizes and celebrates tech startups of all shapes and sizes. This year, over 150,000 entities across 4200+ cities, 6 continents, and 100+ industries will participate in a bid to be crowned the best startup of the year! Millions of votes have been cast over the past few years, and many stories have been written about these daring and rising startups.
\ The winners will get a free interview on HackerNoon and an Evergreen Tech Company Newspage. \n
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