COMMENT
“Blockchain technology has
the potential to create a whole
new revolution in digital
money, and this trend is
expected to grow widely in the
African region.”
Blockchain developments
“A digital economy based on blockchain could hold African
businesses to a new level of accountability,” he adds. A
host of companies are advancing blockchain development.
Chainforce, an initiative set up by Orange Silicon Valley, is
working with developers and start-ups to foster Minimal
Viable Blockchain Applications (MVBA) to create real-world
commercial solutions. Orange has invested in blockchain
specialist, Chain, and has established a blockchain working
group to explore the application of the technology in various
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markets. Chain recently collaborated with the Thales Group to
make it easier for large enterprises to use blockchain to safely
store their security credentials. Brian Behlendorf, the Executive
Director of Hyperledger, an open-source project to advance
cross-industry blockchain technologies, also believes that: “If
organisations and developers pull together, it could have as
big a transformational effect on our society as the web”.
Changing the face of business
Blockchain is already having an impact on global trading. A
number of financial institutions are looking into blockchain
technology to streamline processes and save time and money,
an example of which is the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB)
willingness to consider the merits and possible implementation
of blockchain. In addition, Barclays Bank and start-up, Wave,
have already completed a blockchain trade finance transaction.
One of Barclays’ first blockchain collaborations in Africa is
with Consent in 2015, according to Quartz Africa. Trading
transactions normally include many participants in different
jurisdictions around the world, which requires a large amount of
paperwork, including countersigned and couriered documents.
Barclays believes that blockchain will speed-up global
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