Blockchain in developing countries kshretri

By | Thursday, April 1, 2021

Navigation

  • Blockchain Projects in Developing Countries Driving Mass Crypto Adoption
  • Crypto Card Reviews
  • Blockchain Projects in Developing Countries
  • Can Blockchain Make A Change In Developing Countries Land Registry?
  • Blockchain Projects in Developing Countries Driving Mass Crypto Adoption

    Mans life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self. Ambedkar Self-sovereign identity is a scarcely developed resource, accessible only by a tech-savvy few in mostly developed countries.

    With the advent of blockchain technology and its application to identity management through projects like Civic and uPort , the laymans ability to exclusively maintain her own data is gradually becoming a reality. But, in developing countries, a whole host of infrastructural and geo-political problems prevent a massive market of identity-non-consumers from freely transacting and exchanging their identity and associated attributes in any context they see fit.

    Not Syrian, not Turkish: Refugees fleeing war lack documentation We see this most often within refugee communities, where typical users dont have access to smart phones or if they do, it is for a very temporary period of time. The lack of a smartphone in todays self-sovereign blockchain market makes it very difficult to even develop an immutable identity, let alone associate it with off-chain attributes over time. In fact, most developing nations within Africa and the Middle East have very low smartphone consumer penetration, in tangent with sometimes unstable governance that makes establishing a technology-centric economy especially difficult.

    Blockchains Greatest Impact Will Be in Developing Countries, Says UPenn Lecturer February 02, , PM EDT By Amy Castor, Bitcoin Magazine Most of the attention, flurry and investment around blockchain technology is in the West, where people are investing in cryptocurrencies and focused on a slew of novel applications, like using a blockchain to track vegetables from the field to store shelves. But the greatest impact of blockchain technology will be in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

    At least, that is the view of David Crosbie , a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He thinks blockchain technology will bring the same everyday levels of convenience and automation to the developing world that we take for granted in places like the U. Trust is essential to how society functions. He explained that we went on to put our trust in the church, which used ideas like hell and damnation to get people to follow the the rules, and then, for better or worse, we put our trust in government.

    The problem is we have handed governments the ability to lock us up, take away our belongings and even kill us, in exchange for a reliable and predictable legal structure, he says. Blockchain technology is the first real effort to expand on that trust model with any success. Readers should conduct their own research prior to taking any actions related to the content below.

    Basic electricity access is taken for granted in the world of crypto and many people across the globe lack this essential commodity. According to the latest figures , more than 1. Electricity poverty has severe ramifications for quality of life in communities experiencing it. Without electricity, many modern medical procedures are impossible to do safely.

    Well-water cant be drawn with electric-powered pumps, lighting and climate control cant provide necessary comforts to students studying for exams or government workers carrying out critical administrative tasks.

    Many communication tools, such as internet access or even computers themselves, are unreliable or entirely out of reach. To make matters even worse, indoor air pollution drives up mortality rates in communities that rely on biomass heating sources for cooking, light, and warmth, resulting in an estimated 4.

    The predominance of rural energy poverty means that simply adding more capacity to centralized energy grids predominantly servicing urban areas is not the solution. Call me E for short. I write on upcoming cryptotrends. Follow me: ecurrencyhodler theliteschool www. However, he very quickly discovered that providing the internet through traditional forms of infrastructure had significant limitations: The cost of accessing the internet was high as you had to buy computers.

    This was not a feasible option for many in developing countries. The alternative was to build internet cafes, but this was impractical as the cost of building wired infrastructure would be immense. In light of this, he decided to think outside the box. Instead of bringing the internet through computers, he decided he would do it through mobile phones.

    Working various phone companies in developing countries, together they provided a stripped down version of the Facebook platform. These walled gardens were designed to wet the appetite of new web-users who would then purchase bigger plans to access a more complete product.

    Since then, internet adoption in developing countries have been making significant headway. This means that there is an entire generation growing up in developing third world countries that have technologically jumped past the era of computers. However, computers may not be the only significant era that developing countries may jump. How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead Developing nations have renewed potential to leapfrog developed economies with the emergence of blockchain technology.

    Leapfrogging happens when nations that are building infrastructure go directly to the latest systems, rather than starting out at the beginning and working forwards. Most discussions of leapfrogging for sustainable development focus on physical infrastructure, like solar-driven power grids.

    But what if leapfrogging could be applied to government, finance and law, building the digital future today? In such a future, the transaction costs of economic activity are drastically reduced in much the same way that the web reduced the transaction costs of publishing and communication, resulting in the explosion of ideas we associate with the internet today. The usefulness of blockchain has similar promise. Much has been made of the potential for blockchain technologies to open up new vistas for business and society.

    But is there a way for this revolutionary technology to empower the rich and poor alike? We argue that, like previous revolutionary ideas, blockchain has the potential to help developing nations leapfrog more-developed economies. Leapfrogging using the lack of existing infrastructure as an opportunity to adopt the most advanced methods has been a highly effective strategy for developing nations over the last few decades.

    The most visible example of leapfrogging today is in nations like Kenya and South Africa , which have rolled out near-universal telephone access using 3G networks instead of laying down copper cables, and provided internet access by smartphone rather than withdesktop PCs. But its not just physical infrastructure that can be leapfrogged. Paul Domjan, who is the global head of research, analytics and data at the bank discussed that although this is likely to happen on a step by step basis, that certain technologies have the ability to skip steps, giving a solution to the problem much quicker than before.

    He used the rapid increase in smartphone usage as an example of this. In a developed country, the chances of having a fixed telephone line is pretty much a given; however, this simply is not the case in emerging countries. Yet, smartphones have given them the chance to experience the world from the comfort of their palm, effectively skipping the step of a fixed line. He feels that blockchain could have the same effect.

    But then another issue gets in the way. How do you transfer money to your unbanked relatives back in Africa? And even if you finally find a way, can you imagine the costs of international remittance?

    One may say they have to replace the people in charge for a start and things will start looking brighter. Now, how do you do that? How do you influence an election in an utterly corrupt country? The African continent is just one example.

    Unfortunately, there are way too many third world countries all over the world that are struggling with similar issues. How come those progressive and altruistic blockchain enthusiasts are not all over the problem yet? Well, in fact, some of them are. However, there are quite a few obstacles that require immediate solutions. To begin with, developing countries are not exactly famous for their super-speed internet connection, and having limited access to the internet singlehandedly bars technological progress.

    Also, the blockchain industry is still short of specialists. Unfortunately, money is crucial and not too many of us would turn down a good offer in favor of a greater cause. And, finally, the infamous scaling problem is still on the agenda and it keeps causing serious blockchain limitations.

    And there are quite a few devoted projects that only prove this point. Not a good math, is it? Projects like Xend are fighting this unfairness by providing fast and easy payments for Nigerian citizens. Regardless of your internet connection or whether or not you have a bank account. It is an exchange platform that allows Ugandans to buy and sell cryptocurrency using the local fiat currency. The platform integrates mobile money technology, making it easier for all Ugandans to access the platform.

    Africa is home to most of the developing countries in the world. Even with the blockchain projects that are currently underway , the continent still holds vast untapped potential.

    Blockchain technology could help the continent solve most of her problems. However, many countries are yet to understand and embrace the technology altogether. Besides, brain drain is a significant problem in major industries, with many developing countries struggling to keep their talented developers. While the continent is warming up to cryptocurrencies, there remains a huge market gap.

    It remains to be seen how talented crypto gurus will tap into this potential and provide lasting solutions for developing countries all around the world. CoinBeat Follow. Gamedrop 6 update! Start date: 8th January Tokens available: 5,, Tokens Won: 3,, Tokens Left: 1,, registered users: registered. We built a crypto game and had to add APompliano as one of our skins!! Take a look at the updated Agareum roadmap to see what we have in store for you this year.

    Join Our Weekly Newsletter. Share Tweet. Blockchain Projects in Developing Countries The project by Electroneum is not the only one of its kind.

    Cycle, Colombia Achieving viable energy solutions is a significant problem for many developing countries. Land LayBy Technology, Kenya The process of buying and selling land should be a simple legal process. CryptoSavannah, Uganda CryptoSavannah is a blockchain innovation hub that is spearheading the blockchain technology in Uganda.

    Africa Remains an Untapped Potential for Blockchain Technology Africa is home to most of the developing countries in the world. Brave Browser: Support for new crypto wallets added. You may also like. Comments Comments are closed.

    Blockchain in developing countries kshretri

    Governance provides a third pillar. State modernization and public goods service provision should be designed and implemented within a democratic governance framework where the rule of law, participation, transparency, and accountability are core drivers that permeate all of society. Developing countries are no strangers to the deployment and use of digital technologies within governments. Over 20 years ago, E-government appeared in the scene and rapidly spread to most countries.

    As mentioned above, many developing countries ended up designing e-government strategies. Despite repeated failures Heeks, , initiatives did not fizzle out. This paper uses digital government broadly defined as public investments on ICTs to modernize the public sector, increase state capacity, and scale-up the provision of public goods. For developing countries where democratic regimes prevail, bringing into the equation the democratic governance approach mentioned above is critical.

    In this context, the net outcome of successful ICT investments in public institutions should not be limited to access, efficiency and effectiveness. More relevant are the strengthening of democratic institutions where transparency and accountability shine the most and citizen and stakeholder engagement becomes part of daily life.

    Figure 1 presents the three pillars of digital government and its interconnections. For developing country democracies, the key entry point is engagement with stakeholders to define policy agendas, identify key challenges, and prioritize interventions.

    Governments should then be able to identify the public entities that need to be involved according to existing legal mandates.

    Allocation of public resources is then finalized and changes in the provision of selected public goods should eventually improve.

    Stakeholders can then provide feedback and demand changes and improvements. Sequencing between these pillars is also essential. For example, governments cannot start implementing e-service delivery if they have not first developed adequate internal ICT and human capacity, and updated or modernized existing business processes. However, nothing is preventing governments from starting with service delivery or ignore the co-creation phase and the engagement with stakeholders.

    This is especially true for the participation and service delivery pillars. Instead, a multichannel approach is most suited in many cases, particularly in countries where ICT penetration is low and poverty is still pervasive. The truth machine Casey and Vigna, The trust machine The Economist, The Internet of value Tapscott and Tapscott, These are some of the names coined by different authors, academic and pundits to capture the complexity of the technology in one phrase.

    While catchy, they fall short from elucidating the benefits of the technology from a public sector perspective. Almost 10 years after its birth, publication after publication continues to explore ways to explain the inner workings of the technology to the average person e. Technology diffusion does not depend on the level of technology comprehension by the public Kapoor et al.

    In this section, blockchain technology is characterized from the perspective of the public sector in developing countries, using the conceptual framework presented in the previous section as a guide. A blockchain is a digital ledger supported by the smart integration of three existing technologies: peer-to-peer distributed networks; cryptography; and consensus algorithms. Blockchain technology complexity stems in part from the fact that its supporting technologies have been hanging out at the fringes of the global network.

    While the concept of digital raises little doubt, the same cannot be said about the ledger nature of blockchains. Despite the increasing popularity of spreadsheets, accountants are perhaps the group most familiar with ledgers as they continuously use them for business purposes. In that world, ledgers are analog or digital books where a series of transactions, mostly credits and debits, are sequentially recorded.

    Not surprisingly, some have suggested that blockchains are indeed a form of triple accounting Simoyama et al. Being that as it may, the key point here is that blockchains are not part of the relational database technology family. Blockchains are thus not designed to store big data, for example. Moreover, and unlike traditional accounting ledgers, blockchain technology provides an open avenue for skilled users to write native computer code.

    Developing applications that operate within the platform or interact with external sources and resources is thus a key feature. Usually presented under the umbrella of smart contracts, programming in blockchains is not limited to them, as discussed below. The underlying peer-to-peer or distributed network should not be confused with a decentralized one.

    Although the terms are used as synonyms in much of the literature, the latter allows for local centralization. That is, a group of nodes close together depend on central local one which in turn provides the link to other node clusters operating under similar arrangements. In a truly distributed network like blockchain, all nodes are equal and live independently. One and two-way encryption tools are extensively used in blockchains. The first is known as hashing and creates an irreversible and unique digital signature for every transaction, a group of transactions, and blocks added to the existing chain.

    The second is asymmetric public key cryptography that generates public and private keys for end users. Users share their public keys while keeping their private keys in a safe space, digital or analog. Most of the data recorded on a blockchain are thus comprised of hashes and public keys.

    Two types of consensus take place in blockchain technology Beyer, The first one occurs when the specialized nodes working on adding a new block of transactions to the chain, the so-called miners, agree on which transactions should be included in such block. This is known as Nakamoto consensus. The second happens when the new block of transactions is actually added to the chain.

    Here, any node or network user can validate such a block and agree to append it to the existing chain 6. In sum, a blockchain is a programmable digital layer operating within a distributed network, requiring cryptographic tools for access and transaction management, and using consensus algorithms for adding or appending new blocks of transactions to the ledger.

    A vast literature on the key traits of blockchain technology already exists. This section presents key blockchain traits based on the contribution that each of its three underlying technologies furnishes.

    Two different sets of traits emerge. One stems from the unique contribution of each of the base technologies. The other is the result of the integration and interaction among them. Traits in the matrix diagonal represent standalone contributions. All other boxes are the result of the integration of the three technologies. Resilience : In a distributed network, multiple independent copies of the blockchain can co-exist. There is thus no central point of failure. Pseudonymity : Cryptographic tools enable users to interact with others without having to reveal their real identities or providing any personal data.

    A relatively high degree of privacy thus exists. The same however does not apply to transactions that in principle can be viewed by anyone in the network. Immutability : Blocks of transactions in the chain are time-stamped and mathematically linked in sequential order.

    Changing one block thus requires changing all other blocks. Incentives : Processing transactions and adding new blocks to the chain brings financial benefits to nodes involved miners. Transaction fees and cryptocurrency rewards are the most common forms of income. Traits stemming from the integration of the technologies include:.

    Consensus : Transaction processing and block addition are validated by network nodes in all cases. This is algorithmic consensus that should not be confused with human-based consensus.

    Transparency : User interactions and the resulting data can be viewed by any network member. Confidential information or data has no place here. Security : Resilience, immutability, and consensus substantially increase the level of internal blockchain security.

    While still possible, hacking and network attacks are still possible. The standard way of classifying blockchains relies on the distinction between private and public, alongside permission levels. In this perspective, three different blockchain types emerge public, private, and consortium blockchains e. While relevant for the private sector, such differentiation might not be as effective from a public sector perspective.

    The distinction between private and consortium blockchains hinges in part on how many entities control access to the application layer. Governments can also have multiple institutions involved in the deployment of one blockchain platform—as could be the case for government interoperability, is one of the main staples of digital government. Calling such an arrangement a consortium does not add any value from the public sector perspective.

    The best way to avoid such potential pitfalls is to go back to the three core blockchain technologies described in section Revisiting Blockchain, Again and suggest an alternative typology that caters to the specific idiosyncrasies of the public sector. Users either find the door open and walk right in or must first ring the doorbell to be able to enter. Cryptographic tools and consensus algorithms operate at the application layer.

    Nodes or users accessing such layers are first authenticated and then furnished an authorization to perform specific actions—such as creating a smart contract, mining the blockchain network or developing a Dapp, for example. Table 2 depicts the matrix of options by separating the different layers. Note that blockchains require all users to be authenticated, regardless of access type. The difference between open and closed network access depends on how users are authenticated.

    In the case of closed access, a third-party one or more entities issues the authentication credentials using cryptographic tools. Note that open access authentication does not fulfill know-your-customer KYC or anti-money-laundering AML regulations and thus might be less attractive to both governments and businesses bound by them 7. Once authenticated, nodes will be able to access the application layer. In the case of classic blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, authentication alone grants immediate access to the application layer.

    Authorization does not exist as a separate instance and thus, no central authority is required. In this case, access to the application layer is fully decentralized. But open access blockchain platforms can also limit access to such layer. For closed access networks, both authentication and authorization are managed by a central outfit—one single entity private, in the traditional scheme or many working together consortium.

    However, it is also possible that a closed blockchain platform provides all authenticated nodes full access to the application layer. This might be relevant to public sector initiatives where all actors within a single ministry or in multiple ministries or public entities work together in a cross-sectoral initiative.

    A GovChain is similar to a government dedicated network with secure links to external clients. A GovChain runs on such network but add functionality at the application layer.

    Finally, this typology highlights the similarities between hybrid open and closed centralized blockchains. In both, the levels of authorization to the application layer are provided by a central outfit. However, since hybrid open networks do not control authentication, all nodes and users still have read access to the full blockchain.

    This is not the case in closed blockchain networks. The latter can also introduce more sophisticated access control schemes to assign different roles of nodes in the application layer.

    Undoubtedly, smart contracts are one of the most touted blockchain features. While the idea itself dates from the end of last century Szabo, , blockchains created the platform for the actual implementation of the idea. For example, Ethereum provides the software Solidity 8 and platform Ethereum Virtual Machine 9 to program and execute contracts In this fashion, transactions envisaged on a given agreement can be triggered at a pre-established date or by action taken by one of the parties involved.

    Contractual transactions are automatically executed and, since the parties have direct access to digital currency, payments occur smoothly. Smart contracts also come in different flavors OSTechNix, The first one mirrors traditional legal contracts which can now be executed on a blockchain platform. Not limited to financial agreements Murphy, , these type of contracts have attracted most of the attention of both practitioners and academics e.

    Here, a given community agrees to specific governance arrangements which are then coded into a binding smart contract. DAOs suffered a devastating setback thanks to the well-known hack Falkon, but are still being explored by practitioners and academics e. Less well-known than the others, ALCs handle multiple smart contracts. Here, the line between contracts and regular computing programming starts to blur. ALCs resemble well-known software gateways that allow communication across different platforms at the application layer.

    As with most nascent technologies, smart contracts have limitations. On the technology side, they are prone to coding errors and bugs as the DAO hack shows.

    This is exacerbated by the fact that programmers must translate legal contracts into code. Complex contracts might thus yield additional coding errors and bugs.

    As all nodes have to run and validate the code in smart contracts, code size is limited and thus running complex applications is not possible O'Connell, Again, complex contracts might not be suitable for blockchain execution. While smart contracts reduce transaction costs, which are now executed automatically, costs related to contract breaches, dispute resolution, and redress are much higher Szczerbowski, Smart contracts are also immutable and act as autonomous agents.

    In this light, researchers recommend using a hybrid approach where both regular and smart contracts act in sync Levi and Lipton, The question on the legality of the first type of contracts has received plenty of attention Frankenreiter, ; Waltl et al.

    More generally, it seems that laws and regulations will need to be changed or updated. In developing countries with weak state capacity and incipient rule of law institutions, this might become a major challenge.

    Since its inception, dynamic innovation, backed by top human talent with access to substantial financial resources, has been part of the blockchain ecosystem.

    The community has thus been able not only to tackle the initial limitations of the technology but also to enhance its core functionality.

    As seen above, blockchains come in many different formats and more are popping up by the day. This is a critical consideration for both academics and policymakers. Blockchain technology is not a monolith. On the contrary, blockchains are a moving target. Here, the distinction between blockchains and distributed ledger technologies DLTs is important Dexter, Blockchains are a subset of DLTs. A blockchain is a DLT that mathematically links blocks of data in sequential fashion using cryptographic tools.

    A DLT is a digital ledger that runs on a distributed network and does not require the use of consensus algorithms for its full operation Just like its digital technology predecessors such as the Internet, both for-profit and non-profit innovators and practitioners continuously showcase the relevance of the new technology to tackle socio-economic, political, and environmental issues.

    Here, different layers and different labels appear in the scene. The first layer, which in turn is the most generic, links blockchains to existing and emerging issues without necessarily referencing development or the SDGs—albeit the latter being universal. Labels used to describe this link include blockchain for social good Podder and Venkat, ; BreakerMag, , blockchain for social impact Fernando, , and blockchain for social change Verlhust and Young, , the latter being a research project.

    Comprised of close to 50 entities, BSIC mentions the SDGs but has set its own agenda 12 For the most part, blockchain startups working under these labels take the initiative on their own and venture into the field to experiment with the nascent technology.

    Pace Kewell 13 , a key issue with this set of initiatives is the lack of a rigorous definition of the concepts being put forward. Social good might have different meanings for different communities, more so if the work is undertaken on a global scale. Furthermore, social change and social impact can also be negative.

    That is, on the ground projects can also generate change and impact by exacerbating existing gaps despite the best efforts of those doing the implementation. Indicators and metrics to assess and measure change are missing in most of these efforts. The second layer includes entities directly supporting the achievement of the SDGs. Three groups comprise this layer.

    The first works on a global scale and have advocacy and awareness-raising role. The Blockchain Commission, a partnership of three non-profit entities launched at the United Nations in , is a typical example. A second group includes UN agencies and development organizations that work in developing countries. These entities work on the ground and disburse their own resources as grants to finance projects.

    Note that these grants go to local innovators and entrepreneurs in developing and not to governments. Most entities working in the SDG realm select the goals and targets that reflect their own internal mandates.

    Reach and scale also play a role as covering 18 goals and over targets does require considerable human and financial resources that most do not have. Last but not least are the organizations working in the humanitarian space. This group also includes UN agencies as well as reputed organizations that have carried out this line of work for many years. Perhaps surprisingly, one of the most well-known examples of apparent blockchain success occurred in this space thanks to WFP refugee program in Jordan Juskalian, ; WFP, , which is now expanding to other regions and thematic areas Baydakova, A recent report details the various initiatives in this space while highlighting some lessons learned so far Coppi, While governments in developing countries are not one of the main overall targets of these groups, very few take a more comprehensive and strategic approach, or explicitly consider the provision of public goods by governments as is the case, for example, of the blockchain for social change research project Verlhust and Young, These authors attempted to delimit the specific application of the emerging technology in the Global South while pushing back on the ongoing hype.

    The Asian Development Bank produced a report targeting Asia and provided recommendations based on the analysis of five use cases Ferrarini et al.

    More recently, an overall blockchain research review included an analysis of the relevance of the technology in the implementation of the SDGs Hughes et al. The authors highlight the goals and targets where blockchains technology could have the most impact while providing a couple of use cases based on selected current development challenges India is facing today.

    The current approach to deploy blockchains in support of development is centered on the elaboration of relevant use cases, which might be openly linked to development goals. Once completed, they are then pitched to social ventures, development organizations or even governments in the Global South to secure either funding or support -or both—for small pilots.

    Given the deluge of publications and academic research on the technology, the above examples show a giant gap when it comes to deploying blockchains in developing country governments. Furthermore, only a few of these directly link such deployments to digital government policies, strategies, and implementation agendas which, as reported by the United Nations UNDESA, , is ongoing in most countries, including developing nations.

    The relationship between blockchains and digital government has thus attracted little attention and real case studies are for the most part missing in action Three distinct patterns can however be identified. First, blockchains are positioned as support infrastructure for ongoing e-government platforms and initiatives. Here, the emphasis is on the technology and innovation part of the equation, and not on the institutional benefits, thus drastically reducing its transformational potential Second, blockchains are seen as a threat, sometimes lethal, to public institutions as they seem to demand dramatic changes in the way they are run—to the point that might put their existence into question.

    And third, on the ground evidence from blockchain deployments within governments is incipient at best. While many blockchain pilots and projects are taking place in developing countries, some even involving the public sector, only a few are actually led by governments. This subsection highlights some of these cases, bearing in mind that keeping track of all such initiatives is a complex task. Estonia is often cited as a best practice for blockchain deployment Sullivan and Burger, ; Guarda, and an example to follow.

    Estonia gained its independence in and rapidly gained a legitimate reputation of a country able to harness ICTs to promote overall human development. E-governance became its main staple. Nowadays, the country provides assistance in this area to many others almost on a global scale. The cyber-attacks on Estonia's overall infostructure opened the door for further innovation in the area of security.

    That same year a company called Guardtime was launched, offering government a solution called KSI Keyless Service Infrastructure , which allowed for the decentralized verification of public records, data, and access points without having to use a digital signature.

    Instead, KSI uses one-way hashing and a decentralized ledger. Deployed in , KSI does resemble blockchain technology sans one of its core components: consensus algorithms.

    Being that as it may, the key point of the Estonia example is the role KSI played in supporting existing e-governance platforms and services. It furnished a new solution to a major digital challenge that could perhaps not be solved otherwise. While the company claims it beat Nakamoto by a couple of years 16 , KSI is not in the same ballpark as Bitcoin or Ethereum Technological replication of the Estonia case using a different platform might thus be more complex than expected.

    While not a country, Dubai is certainly larger in population than Estonia and hosts over nationalities. The Dubai Emirate also operates almost like a city-state and has its own policies and institutions in addition to federal ones.

    Back in , the Prime Minister of the Emirate announced the launching of a blockchain strategy planned to be fully implemented by Gulf News, Spearheaded by Smart Dubai, a local entity that oversees the strategic deployment of new technologies and innovation in close collaboration with the private sector, the strategy set three core goals: foster government efficiency; create new business opportunities and startups; and assume a leadership position on blockchain technologies Bishr, In terms of efficiency, two key priorities have been identified: a paperless government and a blockchain-based payments system Jones, Note that both themes were already part of the overall policy agenda of Smart Dubai, which also happens to host the Smart Dubai Government initiative The second theme focusing on startups is also part of the Smart Dubai agenda.

    More recently, Smart Dubai launched a decentralized open data initiative, yet another local priority previously identified, in partnership with a blockchain company Andrikopoulos, While getting updated information on the evolution of these projects is cumbersome, the core lesson from Dubai is similar to that of Estonia: blockchains are brought in to support existing digital government issues and priorities and are effectively deployed to address related challenges.

    But in the case of Dubai, the Emirate has developed a strategy and created an international multi-stakeholder board to oversee its implementation Berryhill et al. Kenya seems to be following these same steps.

    Early last year the government announced the creation of a blockchain task force under the leadership of the Ministry of ICT. The task force prepared a report which was submitted to the Minister last November. While the report is apparently not publicly, press reports suggest that its contents are fully aligned with Kenya's development priorities Kenyan Wallstreet, ; Tanui, Perhaps coincidentally, the government announced a program to provide affordable housing a month before Alexandre, Countries such as Georgia and Peru have taken a more sectoral approach.

    Georgia is one of the leaders in the use of blockchains for land title registration which has already been the subject of critical academic research Lemieux, ; Thomas, Most developing countries use paper-based methods that are a challenge when it comes to updating the information digitally.

    Any data is hashable, no matter its size or type, and the hash produced by any data is the same length. Implementation of blockchain would mean having to deal with issues created by decades-old poor land governance.

    It would also need a large investment to ensure the management of this technology. It is not impossible to streamline and digitize a land registry. Many governments in the developing countries struggle with poor land governance issues, including registry digitization. Most are still far off from implementing the blockchain technology on a larger scale.

    However, the technology has some potential in areas where they have already succeeded in establishing a good record of title deeds. The emergence of technology such as GPS, satellite imagery, machine learning, and machine imagery are some good examples of possibilities for completion of land record digitalization. These technological advancements might play a big role in the establishment of blockchain land registries in the future.

    Blockchain technology can help to streamline the land registries in developing countries. These land registries largely depend on manual updates. These updates are rarely accurate, are prone to tampering, forgery, and loss.

    Digitization of the land registry would be a huge leap towards ensuring that the land titles and tenures are registered to the rightful owners. Disputes arising from land ownership matters would be history. Blockchain technology is immutable. When a change is made, it is permanent and cannot be reversed. The evidence is open for scrutiny and this would build trust between the public and the land registry officials.

    Do you share similar views with TechWarn. If no what is your take on the topic? Drop your opinions in the comment section! Disclaimer: The Information provided on the website is designed to provide helpful information regarding cryptocurrency subjects. The content is not meant to be used, nor should it be used as a basis, foundational knowledge or prerequisite for decision making regards trading.

    Always do your own research and due diligence before placing a trade. We are not liable for any outcome based on any content found on the site.

    While this new position is aimed at growing local blockchain startups, India will be at a great disadvantage. Firstly, the country will not have much need exposure to help explore all blockchain possibilities. As a result, many investors in the country have opted to raise funds through VCs and ICOs in other jurisdictions.

    True be told, blockchain has the power to rewrite the narrative of developing economies and create a better future block by block.

    While many developing countries are already using blockchain for various activities, many in these regions do not fully comprehend the full extent of its capacity. According to Rita Trichur, there is a lack of incentive to create a real sharing economy with cryptocurrencies.

    Consumers at the ground level do not have a proper understanding of who the technology works. This has served as a big discouragement stopping many from creates misinformation between people.

    When people hear about blockchain their minds quickly think about cryptocurrencies. What they, however, fail to comprehend is blockchain is much more than digital currencies. Notably, a lack of blockchain knowledge creates a big gap between the consumer, developer, and distributors and thus slowing down the general project ecosystem.

    When the technology was first introduced, many creators sought funding form investors who promised huge turns as a reward. While many of these projects richly rewarded their investors, some projects failed miserably. Importantly, many of the failed projects formed part of fraudulent efforts seeing to steal heard earn money from investors.

    Some of the blockchain technologies rely massively on other technologies like the internet, Artificial intelligence and many more. According to UNICEF, there are over million young people aged between the age of 15 and 24 around the globe mainly in developing countries who are not connected to the internet.

    Governments massively influence the adoption of technologies. With little understanding of the technology, most governments in developing countries do not show support for this technology.

    By doing so, they have failed to give a regulatory framework to govern and increase adoption.

    Crypto Card Reviews

    The initiative also attempted to address its governance implications. A GovChain is similar to a government dedicated network with secure links to external kshretri. Despite repeated failures Heeks,initiatives did not fizzle out. How do you transfer money to your unbanked relatives back developing Africa? Distrust due to failed projects When the technology was first introduced, many creators sought countries form investors who promised huge turns as a reward. This might be relevant to public sector initiatives where all actors within a single ministry or in multiple ministries or public entities blockchain together in a cross-sectoral initiative. Only six were published in academic journals.

    Blockchain Projects in Developing Countries

    Blockchain in developing countries kshretri

    Moreover, they kshretri a set of targets and indicators calling for increased ICT access and diffusion. Countries either find the door open and walk right developing or must first ring the doorbell to be able to enter. Cryptocurrency Card Team 45 posts. Implementation of blockchain would mean having to deal with issues created by decades-old poor land governance. Technology diffusion does blockchain depend on the level of technology comprehension by the public Kapoor et al.

    Can Blockchain Make A Change In Developing Countries Land Registry?

    Integration with other digital technologies was also part of the process. This is perhaps a crucial point as blockchains seem to add real value when brought in as a new member of an existing technology team.

    In this light, it is possible to suggest that smart contracts could become really intelligent if they could effectively interact with Deep Learning algorithms and platforms, for example Salah et al. While not having a happy ending, the Illinois experience sheds light on the risks of deploying blockchains.

    Technical limitations of the blockchain platforms selected for the various pilots helped stall the project. The initiative also attempted to address its governance implications. Consequently, specific legislative changes were requested to the local assembly, including biometric-based notarization, self-notarization of documents and several other measures to improve the management of public land records State of Illinois, While having potential for increasing state capacity, demands for institutional change, grounded mostly on technological grounds, might not take off if local decision-makers have not been involved in the process from the start.

    Surely, this is not unique to blockchains. But the fact that the technology is also touted as governance and institutional changer e. As discussed in subsection Blockchains, Development and Governments, blockchain deployment in developing country governments is still in its infancy. Hype, complexity, lack of successful implementation, and an overemphasis on cryptocurrencies and new financial markets are factors that might help explain this state of affairs—not to forget the fact that blockchain technology is still maturing.

    The conceptual framework presented in this paper targets this gap by providing governments and development practitioners with potential entry points to explore the effective deployment of blockchain technology systematically.

    If governments are the main target of blockchain technology initiatives, then digital government and state capacity must take center stage. Early evidence suggests that blockchains can make a difference when aligned with existing digital government institutions, strategies, priorities, and platforms. This, in turn, indicates that a more nuanced approach to the interplay between blockchains and key digital government components is required. For starters, governments in the Global South should capitalize on existing South-South and North-South cooperation agreements and networks to extract more information on ongoing blockchain deployments in the public sector.

    Collaboration across government peers on a global scale could add more value than published reports and thus help avoid pitfalls that pioneers in the sector have unexpectedly faced.

    Looking at the way blockchains can tackle core digital government themes and bottlenecks will be as important, if not more. For example, government interoperability has traditionally been one of such issues.

    More often than not, public entities happen to run their own technology platforms that almost never talk to each other. On the other hand, citizens and stakeholders will surely benefit from having one-stop shops to undertake all the business they do with government. To reach this point, government platforms must be able to converse among themselves.

    Governments have thus developed government interoperability frameworks that promote public sector integration. This is accomplished by the development of digital gateways that mediate the conversations across different public platforms.

    Having a blockchain platform to support and enhance interoperability by ensuring the integrity and transparency of the public sector certainly has enormous potential El-dosuky and El-adl, The same goes for many of the other core areas of traditional e-government.

    Blockchains can also have potential in enhancing state capacity. Many developing countries have designed decentralization or devolution strategies where both policymaking and fiscal management shifts from central governments to those in regions, states, and municipalities.

    Implementation of such policies has however been challenging, particularly in low-income countries. Lack of overall capacity has been one of the main challenges local governments face accompanied by a potential decrease in fiscal resources. Enter blockchains. For example, governments could set up one blockchain platform, a GovChain, to cater to all local governments. Financial resources could thus flow within the Gov-chan vis smart contacts, while local government offices can use the platform to support other government activities such as public information disclosure.

    This is an area that might have great potential but remains largely unexplored De Santis, Along the same lines, it is possible to make a case for distributed policymaking. Many developing countries are characterized by socio-economic, cultural and geographical diversity that comprehensive national policies tend to ignore for the sake of universality. At the same time, many countries also have national, regional, and local development plans that, for the most part, are not necessarily in sync.

    Finding a middle of the road approach where local diversity shines but, at the same time, falls within broader development policies set at higher levels of government is feasible.

    Again, a GovChain could make a key difference here. While complex, the challenges for adopting blockchains in the public sector of developing countries are not insurmountable. On the other hand, the opportunities are just starting to pop-up and could be harnessed in the short-term if the links between technology, sustainability and government institutions are brought to the fore.

    Developing countries are, for the most part, playing catch-up when attempting to harness the latest digital technologies such as blockchains, among many others. This set of countries has also endorsed internationally-agreed development goals while devising their own national and subnational development plans. While juggling such agendas is not simple, governments can play an important role in promoting the link between technology and development while enticing all other actors and sectors to act in concert.

    Undoubtedly, governments should lead when it comes to the modernization of public institutions, the deployment of digital government and the provision of public goods. This paper develops a conceptual framework aimed at grasping the dynamics between sustainable development, governments in the Global South and ICTs, introducing state capacity as both a means and an end.

    State capacity is required to achieve the various development goals and harness ICTs effectively. Building state capacity is also a goal that will ensure development gains can be sustained in the long haul.

    The framework is then used to assess the relevance of blockchain technologies in such dynamics While still technologically evolving, blockchains offer unique traits and benefits that could make a difference if deployed strategically within governments in developing countries.

    Unfortunately, on the ground evidence of blockchain implementation is still emerging while a closer examination of its relationship with digital government is almost absent.

    Use cases still dominate the scene and the core assumption is that blockchains will prevail as the overall disruptor with no partners in sight. However, early evidence suggests that blockchains can add value when deployed as part of a team of digital technologies working in sync. Early implementations also indicate that adequate institutional support and endorsement are critical, especially from the public entities promoting digital government that had already identified a range of priorities as key targets.

    Nevertheless, risks still abound, stemming from the limitations of the technology itself and its complexity, and calls for rapid institutional change which could push back existing political will.

    In addition, issues related to implementation costs and actual project management need further exploration. The distributed nature of blockchain technology and its implications for governance systems has also upstaged digital government concerns.

    While linked to ongoing discussions on algorithmic governance concerning Artificial Intelligence and all its cousins, a blockchain-based perspective connecting these dots is missing in action.

    Developing countries with low capacity states and nascent capitalist development might find such new governance options less palatable given pressing sustainable development demands and calls to sustain democratic governance regimes. If it is a real institutional technology, then blockchain technology should be a critical enabler for innovative institutional development.

    Blockchains could also deliver the goods within existing institutional settings, thus making institutional change a matter of human agency, not technology. And that would undoubtedly be a critical achievement that could contribute to resilient long-term sustainable development. Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

    Instead, the concept includes nation-states that are at various stages of development as measured for example by the World Bank country income or lending categories, or the UNDP human development index, among others. Furthermore, development is a moving target as countries can and should travel across the various development categories in the medium-term, with some even transferring into the industrialized-country team, eventually.

    The latter has grown exponentially since the late s and propelled economic growth in industrialized countries McKinsey, Governments however cannot outsource such functions so easily. Ethereum smart contracts have their own blockchain accounts which function in distinct fashion vis-a-vis user accounts. For example, the latest literature review on the subject published last Summer was only able to identify twenty one relevant papers Batubara et al.

    Only six were published in academic journals. Moreover, most of these papers take a sectoral approach focusing on topics such as electoral processes, healthcare, and education, to menton a few. Alexandre, A. Kenyan gov't to use blockchain in new affordable housing project.

    Google Scholar. Andreasson, K. Andrikopoulos, V. Asadullah, M. Poverty reduction during — did millennium development goals adoption and state capacity matter? World Dev. Atzori, M. Batubara, F. Baydakova, A. UN food program to expand blockchain testing to african supply chain. CoinDesk blog. Berryhill, J. Blockchains Unchained. Beyer, S. PubMed Abstract Google Scholar. Bishr, A. Dubai: a city powered by blockchain. Innovations 12, 4—8. BreakerMag BreakerMag blog.

    Brown, A. How much evidence is there really? Mapping the evidence base for ICT4D interventions. Casey, M. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. Comin, D. If technology has arrived everywhere, why has income diverged? Coppi, G. Cozzens, S. Davidson, S. Blockchains and the Economic Institutions of Capitalism. De Filippi, P. Blockchain and the Law: The Rule of Code. De Santis, R. Dexter, S. Mango Research blog.

    Diallo, N. Dutton, T. Dwyer, R. El-dosuky, M. GIZAChain: e-government interoperability zone alignment, based on blockchain technology. PeerJ Preprints 7:ev1. Estevez, E. Electronic governance for sustainable development — conceptual framework and state of research. Falkon, S. The story of the DAO — its history and consequences. Medium blog. Fernando, A. Interested blockchain for social impact?

    Here are the projects you should know. Ferrarini, B. Distributed Ledger Technologies for Developing Asia. Manila: Asian Development Bank.

    Foster, C. Why efforts to spread novel ICTs often fail. Frankenreiter, J. The limits of smart contracts. Gomez, R. The changing field of ICTD: growth and maturation of the field, — Electron J.

    Guarda, D. Gulf News Harry CultHub blog. Hau, M. Heeks, R. E-government as a carrier of context. Public Policy 25, 51— Do information and communication technologies ICTs contribute to development? Hernandez, K. Blockchain for Development — Hope or Hype?

    Hughes, L. Blockchain research, practice and policy: applications, benefits, limitations, emerging research themes and research agenda. IDB Illinois Blockchain Initiative The Illinois Blockchain Initiative. ITU Core List of Indicators. Janowski, T. Implementing sustainable development goals with digital government — aspiration-capacity gap. Janssen, M. Lean government and platform-based governance—doing more with less.

    Jones, M. Smart dubai launches blockchain-based payments for government. The Block blog. Juskalian, R. MIT Technology Review.

    Kapoor, K. Rogers' innovation adoption attributes: a systematic review and synthesis of existing research. Kenyan Wallstreet Kenyan Wallstreet blog. Kewell, B. Blockchain for good? Change 26, — Lamport, L. Time, clocks, and the ordering of events in a distributed system. ACM 21, — Lemieux, V. Evaluating the use of blockchain in land transactions: an archival science perspective. Law J. Levi, S.

    Macrinici, D. Smart contract applications within blockchain technology: a systematic mapping study. McKinsey Meadows, D. Millard, J. Open governance systems: doing more with more. Murphy, J. Ndou, V. E-government for developing countries: opportunities and challenges.

    Nelson, P. O'Connell, J. OSTechNix Blockchain 2. OSTechNix blog. Pisa, M. Reassessing Expectations for Blockchain and Development. Center For Global Development. Blockchain and Economic Development: Hype vs. Podder, S. Rahman, H. IGI Global. Reijers, W.

    Ledger 1, — Rustum, A. DLT access control comparison. B9lab Blog. Salah, K. Blockchain for AI: review and open research challenges. IEEE Access 7, — Savoia, A. Measurement, evolution, determinants, and consequences of state capacity: a review of recent research.

    Simoyama, F. Triple entry ledgers with blockchain for auditing. For instance, banking is only available in big cities, when the majority of the African population lives in the countryside. The poverty forces people to leave their home countries and move abroad in a search of a stable income. But then another issue gets in the way. How do you transfer money to your unbanked relatives back in Africa?

    And even if you finally find a way, can you imagine the costs of international remittance? One may say they have to replace the people in charge for a start and things will start looking brighter. Now, how do you do that? How do you influence an election in an utterly corrupt country?

    The African continent is just one example. Unfortunately, there are way too many third world countries all over the world that are struggling with similar issues. How come those progressive and altruistic blockchain enthusiasts are not all over the problem yet? Well, in fact, some of them are. However, there are quite a few obstacles that require immediate solutions.

    To begin with, developing countries are not exactly famous for their super-speed internet connection, and having limited access to the internet singlehandedly bars technological progress. Also, the blockchain industry is still short of specialists. Unfortunately, money is crucial and not too many of us would turn down a good offer in favor of a greater cause. And, finally, the infamous scaling problem is still on the agenda and it keeps causing serious blockchain limitations.

    And there are quite a few devoted projects that only prove this point. Not a good math, is it? It remains to be seen how talented crypto gurus will tap into this potential and provide lasting solutions for developing countries all around the world. CoinBeat Follow. Gamedrop 6 update! Start date: 8th January Tokens available: 5,, Tokens Won: 3,, Tokens Left: 1,, registered users: registered.

    We built a crypto game and had to add APompliano as one of our skins!! Take a look at the updated Agareum roadmap to see what we have in store for you this year. Join Our Weekly Newsletter. Share Tweet. Blockchain Projects in Developing Countries The project by Electroneum is not the only one of its kind.

    Cycle, Colombia Achieving viable energy solutions is a significant problem for many developing countries. Land LayBy Technology, Kenya The process of buying and selling land should be a simple legal process.

    CryptoSavannah, Uganda CryptoSavannah is a blockchain innovation hub that is spearheading the blockchain technology in Uganda. Africa Remains an Untapped Potential for Blockchain Technology Africa is home to most of the developing countries in the world. Brave Browser: Support for new crypto wallets added. You may also like. Comments Comments are closed. Retweet on Twitter CoinBeat Retweeted. Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter 2 Like on Twitter 4 Twitter Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter 7 Like on Twitter 11 Twitter Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter 3 Like on Twitter 4 Twitter Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter 2 Twitter Reply on Twitter Retweet on Twitter Like on Twitter 1 Twitter Your email johnsmith example.

    First Name John.

    Blockchain technology is the backbone of many in the cryptocurrency industry as the latter are just the first application. Bitcoin launched in and popularized the innovation. Simply put, a blockchain is a digitized, decentralized public ledger of transactions.

    It keeps a permanent record of all transactions between users in the network. Any modification or update in any transaction is transmitted to every user in the network. This technology helps in making the system more secure and decentralized.

    The real identity of the parties involved in any transaction is also never revealed, and cryptography secures the transaction. Blockchain technology was initially developed for keeping bitcoin decentralized, but it has now found its applications in fields as diverse as research , music and warehouse management. Blockchain Opportunities for Social Impact in Developing Countries Blockchain is changing the financial sector but it is also creating new opportunities to generate social impacts, e.

    In June , Accelerator Frankfurt brought together start-ups and academics to discuss and learn more about new applications of this exciting technology.

    His university is a front-runner on this topic as they have created a think tank and a research center which investigates the implications of the blockchain technology for companies and their business models.

    Luis Bezzenberger from Brainbot Technologies presented a list of organisations and companies working on applications including blockchain technologies. Bjrn Fischer, the final speaker presented an example of how blockchain technology could possibly change the energy access sector.

    In essence, blockchain technology constitutes a fascinating new approach to keeping track of, for example, asset ownership, without requiring a central authority and with minimal transaction costs.

    This in turn supports business models with the potential to trigger radical changes in society and the economy. New transactions are registered and compiled in batches called "blocks" and then are added to the existing chain of blocks and hence the name, Blockchain. The users can then look at the transactions to verify that a particular transaction took place at a particular time.

    Mans life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self. Ambedkar Self-sovereign identity is a scarcely developed resource, accessible only by a tech-savvy few in mostly developed countries. With the advent of blockchain technology and its application to identity management through projects like Civic and uPort , the laymans ability to exclusively maintain her own data is gradually becoming a reality.

    But, in developing countries, a whole host of infrastructural and geo-political problems prevent a massive market of identity-non-consumers from freely transacting and exchanging their identity and associated attributes in any context they see fit. Not Syrian, not Turkish: Refugees fleeing war lack documentation We see this most often within refugee communities, where typical users dont have access to smart phones or if they do, it is for a very temporary period of time.

    The lack of a smartphone in todays self-sovereign blockchain market makes it very difficult to even develop an immutable identity, let alone associate it with off-chain attributes over time. In fact, most developing nations within Africa and the Middle East have very low smartphone consumer penetration, in tangent with sometimes unstable governance that makes establishing a technology-centric economy especially difficult.

    Blockchains Greatest Impact Will Be in Developing Countries, Says UPenn Lecturer February 02, , PM EDT By Amy Castor, Bitcoin Magazine Most of the attention, flurry and investment around blockchain technology is in the West, where people are investing in cryptocurrencies and focused on a slew of novel applications, like using a blockchain to track vegetables from the field to store shelves.

    But the greatest impact of blockchain technology will be in developing countries, such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela. At least, that is the view of David Crosbie , a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He thinks blockchain technology will bring the same everyday levels of convenience and automation to the developing world that we take for granted in places like the U.

    Trust is essential to how society functions. He explained that we went on to put our trust in the church, which used ideas like hell and damnation to get people to follow the the rules, and then, for better or worse, we put our trust in government. The problem is we have handed governments the ability to lock us up, take away our belongings and even kill us, in exchange for a reliable and predictable legal structure, he says.

    Blockchain technology is the first real effort to expand on that trust model with any success. Readers should conduct their own research prior to taking any actions related to the content below. Basic electricity access is taken for granted in the world of crypto and many people across the globe lack this essential commodity.

    According to the latest figures , more than 1. Electricity poverty has severe ramifications for quality of life in communities experiencing it. Without electricity, many modern medical procedures are impossible to do safely. Well-water cant be drawn with electric-powered pumps, lighting and climate control cant provide necessary comforts to students studying for exams or government workers carrying out critical administrative tasks.

    Many communication tools, such as internet access or even computers themselves, are unreliable or entirely out of reach. To make matters even worse, indoor air pollution drives up mortality rates in communities that rely on biomass heating sources for cooking, light, and warmth, resulting in an estimated 4. The predominance of rural energy poverty means that simply adding more capacity to centralized energy grids predominantly servicing urban areas is not the solution.

    Call me E for short. I write on upcoming cryptotrends. Follow me: ecurrencyhodler theliteschool www. However, he very quickly discovered that providing the internet through traditional forms of infrastructure had significant limitations: The cost of accessing the internet was high as you had to buy computers. This was not a feasible option for many in developing countries.

    The alternative was to build internet cafes, but this was impractical as the cost of building wired infrastructure would be immense. In light of this, he decided to think outside the box. Instead of bringing the internet through computers, he decided he would do it through mobile phones. Working various phone companies in developing countries, together they provided a stripped down version of the Facebook platform.

    These walled gardens were designed to wet the appetite of new web-users who would then purchase bigger plans to access a more complete product. Since then, internet adoption in developing countries have been making significant headway. This means that there is an entire generation growing up in developing third world countries that have technologically jumped past the era of computers.

    However, computers may not be the only significant era that developing countries may jump. How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead Developing nations have renewed potential to leapfrog developed economies with the emergence of blockchain technology. Leapfrogging happens when nations that are building infrastructure go directly to the latest systems, rather than starting out at the beginning and working forwards.

    Most discussions of leapfrogging for sustainable development focus on physical infrastructure, like solar-driven power grids. But what if leapfrogging could be applied to government, finance and law, building the digital future today? In such a future, the transaction costs of economic activity are drastically reduced in much the same way that the web reduced the transaction costs of publishing and communication, resulting in the explosion of ideas we associate with the internet today.

    The usefulness of blockchain has similar promise. Much has been made of the potential for blockchain technologies to open up new vistas for business and society. But is there a way for this revolutionary technology to empower the rich and poor alike? We argue that, like previous revolutionary ideas, blockchain has the potential to help developing nations leapfrog more-developed economies. Leapfrogging using the lack of existing infrastructure as an opportunity to adopt the most advanced methods has been a highly effective strategy for developing nations over the last few decades.

    The most visible example of leapfrogging today is in nations like Kenya and South Africa , which have rolled out near-universal telephone access using 3G networks instead of laying down copper cables, and provided internet access by smartphone rather than withdesktop PCs. But its not just physical infrastructure that can be leapfrogged. Paul Domjan, who is the global head of research, analytics and data at the bank discussed that although this is likely to happen on a step by step basis, that certain technologies have the ability to skip steps, giving a solution to the problem much quicker than before.

    He used the rapid increase in smartphone usage as an example of this. In a developed country, the chances of having a fixed telephone line is pretty much a given; however, this simply is not the case in emerging countries. Yet, smartphones have given them the chance to experience the world from the comfort of their palm, effectively skipping the step of a fixed line.

    He feels that blockchain could have the same effect. Despite being created to support cryptocurrencies, it also offers huge benefits to most industries. Domjan explained how this could work; Due to its distributed nature, recording new assets on a blockchain can be quite slow, with transaction times measured in hours or even days rather than the seconds that are typical of e-commerce.

    As such, blockchain technology is a poor substitute for existing ownership records in developed or even emerging economiesWhereas some emerging markets , such as Russia and China , have property registration systems on par with those in the high-income OECD countries, frontier markets in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia lag far behind, with average performance less than half that of the best performing economies.

    He is also quick to add though that it is not just the property sector that can benefit from blockchain technology. How Cryptocurrency Can Help Developing Countries Poverty, corruption, inflation, and high unemployment levels are some of the problems that are common to developing countries around the world. Years of political instability and poor governance has plunged some nations into devastating economic crisis.

    With the fast-paced nature of growth and advancements in other more developed parts of the world, the prospects sometimes do seem bleak for these developing nations. However, the emergence of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency has brought renewed enthusiasm about the prospects of a revival in these countries.

    The focus of this article is to examine possible answers to the big question of how cryptocurrency can be of use to these countries. The global remittance system is based almost entirely on the activities of citizens of developing countries who are immigrants in the developed world. From time to time, these individuals have to send money back home. Projects like Xend are fighting this unfairness by providing fast and easy payments for Nigerian citizens. Regardless of your internet connection or whether or not you have a bank account.

    Just use the messaging option instead. In the Philippines, for crypto needs they have Rebit. The service allows you to transfer money via bitcoin payments. Rebit transfers your BTC into cash, and family members can collect it at pick-up points or get them directly in their bank account.

    With almost zero fees included. For the Philippines, this crypto payment option is definitely a blessing. Another crypto project, BitPesa , also has a goal of delivering faster, cheaper, and easier money transfers to Africa. It cuts out the middleman, who is a huge money-draining layer on the continent, to save costs.

    Moreover, the forex and payment platform allows businesses to manage all sorts of payments to their distributors and suppliers, as well as salaries. And do it fast and cost-efficiently. Not having access to such a basic human commodity as a bank account means usually, but not always no regular income, no securities of any kind, and no opportunities to get a loan of any type, be it business or personal necessity. Which, in turn, leads to a vicious circle — even if you have the desire to change anything, your hands are tied.

    Why is that? The onboarding process in third world countries is a tricky business. Many people simply have no standard documents such as a birth certificate or ID to even start the process. And insurance is completely out of the question. Humaniq is one of the few platforms that takes care of the poverty issue. And they take it very seriously. They offer financial services to the unbanked and help small businesses broaden their outreach.

    The platform conducts their own KYC procedures so there is no need to collect extra documents. Apart from zero-fee money transfers, the company strives to provide remote work to anyone. They believe that the blockchain can power a new, uncorrupt, and transparent kind of charity and give their stakeholders the opportunity to control where their funds end up.

    They also enable guarantor and direct lending to entrepreneurs. We are sure that blockchain and cryptocurrency technology can definitely provide those basic financial services that third world citizens need so desperately. Apart from that, there are many other challenges that tech can help deal with, from fair elections and eliminating leechlike middlemen, to affordable education and fighting inflation.

    What is more, it is possible that the development of blockchain and cryptocurrency technology on a larger scale could potentially start off exactly in developing countries.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *