Paula Palermo

Paula Palermo

Worldwide, She/Her

About

Paula is a Brazilian Architect, Urban Planner, and Economist. She is the Institutional Partnerships and Sector Intelligence Director at Nature Tech Collective and has 15+ years of experience in social and sustainability-related initiatives. Paula was previously part of the VC teams at Plug and Play and Techstars, on the topics of Fintech, Blockchain, Web3, Smart Cities, and Sustainability.

HBS - Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance at Harvard Business School
Boston, United States

Scholarship provided by Accion International

Bachelor in Architecture and Urban Planning at Escola da Cidade Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo
São Paulo, Brazil
Bachelor of Economics at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil

Scholarship provided by PUC-SP

Work Experience

2024 — Now

As an impact investor, EIT Urban Mobility invests in solutions that contribute positively to at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to sustainable cities and communities, clean energy, and climate action.

2022 — Now

The Nature Tech Collective is a non-profit member alliance, accelerator, and intelligence unit that is advancing the uptake of nature-based solutions and closing the nature-finance gap.

2023 — Now
Associate Professor at Responsible Cities Institute

Responsive Cities MBA is the first MBA in Brazil to combine strategic urbanism and technology. Teaching (I) Innovation Ecosystems, (II) ESG and Carbon Credits, and (III) Final Dissertations.

2022 — 2024
São Paulo, Brazil (Remote)

Simbiotica is an aggregator of disruptive solutions and trends focused on accelerating the 3D economy (digital, decentralized, and decarbonized) through blockchain technology, catalyzing trillion-dollar markets.

2022 — 2022
Dublin, Ireland

Web3 Techstars Accelerator - The program works with entrepreneurs building blockchain technology and tokenization protocols driving toward the decentralized future.

2021 — 2022
Valencia, Spain / Sunnyvail, United States

Plug and Play is the ultimate innovation platform, bringing together the best startups and the world’s largest corporations. The global smart cities network focuses on accelerating innovation in cities - Blockchain, Mobility, IoT, Real Estate & Construction, Energy & Sustainability, among other cross-vertical areas.

Support deal teams on new investments, work with corporate partners on their technology needs, and overall program management.

2020 — 2021
A Coruña, Spain

Responsible for planning and execution of international scale projects in the Retail industry, assigning tasks, budget, and profit control, establishing goals and objectives, and helping to coordinate all production phases. The account manager of a 6M euro international campaign.

2019 — 2019
San Francisco, United States (Remote)

New Story Charity is a Y-Combinator-backed non-profit that aims to solve the multifaceted problem of global homelessness. Responsible for research and development of decentralized financial solutions for affordable housing in México.
Implementation plans, best practices, and recommendations related to Blockchain applications for affordable housing solutions.

2018 — 2018
Santiago, Chile

Member of the Brazilian delegation at the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. Focus on Blockchain topics for Sustainable Development Applications.

2016 — 2017
Berlin, Germany

Consultancy for cultural and architectural projects, research, internal and external presentations, elaboration of exhibitions, concepts, and project development.

Consulting, Spatial Design, Exhibition Architecture, Strategic Frameworks, Research, Curatorial, and Discursive Activities

Speaking

2023
Environmental, Social & Governance Working Group at Wall Street Blockchain Alliance
Remote

The WSBA ESG Working Group was privileged to host a panel discussion on the intersection between Blockchain and ESG with Adam Wasserman (Finpublica), Darren Wolfberg (Triangle Systems), and Paula Palermo (Simbiotica Finance).

2023
Uses of Distributed Ledger Technology in the ESG agenda at IOSCO World Investor Week campaign of 2023 Investor Resilience, Crypto Assets, and Sustainable Finance
Remote

Explore the potential contributions and applications of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and distributed ledger technology in incorporating sustainability challenges into financial and capital markets. Here, explore the synergies and points of intersection between the DLT and ESG universes. The main use cases and trends identified in other jurisdictions and in the local market will be addressed.

2023
Web3 for Good: Tecnologia Viabilizando Projetos e Resolvendo Problemas Sócioambientais at Festival Cidade do Futuro, Prefeitura de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil

Arena Futuro do Clima, Organized by Secretaria de Inovação e Tecnologia da Cidade de São Paulo

2023
Investimentos de Impacto: Como Investir em Negócios com Propósito at Festival Cidade do Futuro, Prefeitura de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil

Arena Startups for Good, Organized by Secretaria de Inovação e Tecnologia da Cidade de São Paulo

2023
Cutting Edge ESG

Organized by Finpublica Finance Leaders for the Public Good & Aspen Institute

2023
Innovation Ecosystems at Responsive Cities MBA/ ELA - Escola Livre de Arquitetura

Guest lecturer

2022
Web3 as the New Paradigm of Impact Infrastructure at 2nd Amazonia Rising Virtual Global Summit, Amazon Investor Coalition

Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) have inspired the creation of dozens of startups interested in using their ability to unite diverse interests, create incorruptible data stores, facilitate transactions, and bring new liquidity and economic value to the mission of protecting nature. Unfortunately, the flurry of activity and complexity of issues have made it difficult for investors and donors to understand how to realize the technology’s impact potential. Join us as we dive into a web3 session dedicated to impact finance, digital MRV and ecosystem services.

2022
A Dip Inside Smart Contracts: DAOs and Further Applications at Bocconi University
Milan, Italy

The event was Organized by Corporate Law Academy and Bocconi Students Blockchain Association.

2022
Zurich, Switzerland

How ReFi and food systems can be combined?

2022
Lisbon, Portugal

A global offline Solana conference organized by the Solana Foundation

2022

Guest lecturer. MasterZ “Blockchain and Digital asset” is a business-oriented educational training program, (with scholarships available) in LIVE STREAMING lasting 3 months that enables you to have a clear 360° view of Blockchain technology and of the world of Digital Assets.

2022
Paris, France

Regen and Degen tools for the Next-Generation of digital impact assets.

2022
Milan, Italy

How DeFi can unlock the potential of sustainable practices to scale?

2021
What's Next for Infrastructure & Construction at University of California Berkeley

Guest lecturer

Projects

2023
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Tokenization at Filecoin Foundation & GAIA GreenTech

Open Source Software Grant provided by Filecoin Foundation to adapt GAIA's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment reverse logistic solution to the IPFS stack, implementing a traceability system, rewards as incentives for correct disposal, and the tokenization of the Recycling Certificates.

2022
Impact Assessment and Ratings Framework for Digital Assets at Climate Collective Strategic Grants

Grant provided by Climate Collective to evaluate and de-risk crypto-assets that are good for the planet and people, through a human-centered, hybrid, and scalable framework for impact assessment.

2022
Blockchain for Positive Impact Series at Celo Foundation

Grant provided by Celo Foundation to give visibility for positive impact initiatives inside Celo’s ecosystem, without excluding prospective projects that could consider joining Celo’s ecosystem to grow Celo’s portfolio and use this opportunity as a marketing strategy to onboard companies that are aligned with positive impact principles.

Writing

2022

Blockchain technology is helping citizens to have participative ownership, access to finance, and decision-making in urban governance and planning. But what are the existing initiatives and how are they touching systematic problems? In this article, Paula Palermo, co-founder of Impacta Finance and co-host of Impacta Podcast, analyzes the blockchain urban applications and how this technology could transform our cities.

2022

As cidades do mundo ocupam apenas 3% do território terrestre do planeta, mas elas respondem por 60-80% do consumo de energia, metade da população mundial e 80% do PIB global. Em 2050, espera-se que a população vivendo em cidades chegue a 68%, o que significa que mais 2,5 bilhões de pessoas residirão em áreas urbanas.

2022

O whitepaper do Bitcoin marcou o nascimento da blockchain, tecnologia que Satoshi Nakamoto sugeriu para resolver o problema do duplo-dispêndio. Entretanto, como é evidente pelas próprias referências bibliográficas do paper, os protocolos de dinheiro digital já estavam em desenvolvimento pelo menos uma década antes da publicação oficial do whitepaper.

2022

O carbono pode se tornar a moeda do futuro? É possível pensarmos em uma sociedade em que as unidades de carbono emitidas estejam integradas ao cotidiano de compra e ação dos usuários? Em um sistema onde consumo e produções zero ou negativas em carbono possam ser revertidas diretamente em dinheiro para àqueles com ações sustentáveis?

2022

A cidade de Dublin recebeu essa semana o primeiro primeiro acelerador blockchain agnóstico da Techstars. O programa com foco em empresas em estágios iniciais selecionou entre várias concorrentes, as 10 startups mais promissoras focadas em tecnologia blockchain e protocolos de tokenização para o futuro descentralizado.

2022

A série blockchain para impacto positivo, em parceria com a Celo Foundation e o Criptofácil vai abordar os maiores desafios e as soluções mais inovadoras do impacto na web3, desdobrando sua série de podcast em oito artigos (com esse) publicados semanalmente aqui no Criptofácil.

2019

To talk about the future of planning in a post-Covid-19 scenario we have to look at what we have: technology, structure, and deep social problems. This article doesn’t want to precociously foresee future trends. It aims to be an honest list of our network of possibilities already in march.

2018

O ano é 2010. O Catar como o primeiro país árabe a sediar o Mundial da FIFA em 2022 já inicia intensamente os preparativos para receber dali a 12 anos o tão esperado e custoso evento. São postos em marcha extensos esforços de construção e reconstrução não só de equipamentos diretamente ligados às demandas feitas pela FIFA, mas também e de forma mais ampla, sistemas infraestruturais urbanos das principais cidades do país.

2018

A proposta deste artigo é analisar, a partir de um recorte local, o entrelaçamento de dois fenômenos de escala global articulados ao desenvolvimento urbano e material do Catar, potencializados pela proposta de realização da Copa do Mundo de 2022.

Awards

2023

Challenge 5: Theses, standards and opportunities related to interoperability with the STN Registration and Control System, between web2, web3, and DREX solutions.

Project: Framework for Sustainable Sovereign Digital Bonds

2023

Challenge 4: Development of technologies for use cases of automation of monitoring, control, and online pricing of public securities (eg oracles).

Project: Framework for Sustainable Sovereign Digital Bonds

2023

The Tech4Democracy initiative, promoted by the Center for the Governance of Change at IE University and the US Department of State, and Stanford. The Latin American edition of Tech4democracy featured a global competition specializing in web3-based startups that reinforce democracy.

Features

2023

A Simbiótica Finance ajuda os investidores a acompanhar novos negócios que usam blockchain ou criptomoedas com benefício social ou ambiental.

2023

Participants of the 2023 HBS-Accion Program on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance share their takes on how digital innovation is shaping the future of their field.

2022

On our first episode of the Filecoin Green Room, Paula Palermo of Impacta Finance talks with Alan Ransil of Filecoin Green about crypto projects with a real-world impact.

2022

No sexagésimo BlockTalks a gente conversa com Paula Palermo, da Invert, que conta como o Metaverso pode contribuir com a preservação do meio-ambiente no mundo real.

2022

Metaverse Summit sat down with 3 female project owner, researcher and entrepreneur to talk about how to build a sustainable, positive and decentralized metaverse. Facing the current « far-west » state of art of metaverse, how to protect children from violence, how to project female from harassement, how to link virtual with reality, those are the topics entrepreneurs and gouvernements need to bot think through.

2022

230: International Business | Doing Business in Brazil with Paula Palermo

2021

Wilfred Valenta, founder of Montreal- and Miami-based startup Silofit, found himself rarely using his $200 per month gym membership while working in sales for a tech company and traveling frequently. He wanted to rent out a small office space by the hour to work out while on the road, but didn’t find any options..

2021

Paula Palermo is currently a Smart Cities investment analyst at Plug and Play Tech Center, a company based in Sunnyvale, California, USA, whose main objective is to catalyze technological advancement. In addition, she is involved in International Development Cooperation projects with a focus on cities. Graduated in Architecture and Urban Planning and in Economics, Paula Palermo is one of the special guests in Connecting Stories by PARTTEAM & OEMKIOSKS.

Contact

LinkedIn