Blockchain technology has the potential to transform and enhance Nigeria’s digital economy and add about $29bn to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030, Country Ambassador ImpactMarket Nigeria, Kingsley Goodwin has said.
He said the industry has the potential to foster financial inclusion and employment for Nigeria’s teeming youth population.
Quoting a report drafted by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), Goodwin noted that the blockchain technology offered an optimistic outlook on the potential of blockchain adoption in Nigeria.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Leveraging Blockchain Technology for Human Empowerment and Economic Development in Nigeria’ he said the potential that blockchain technology has in solving some of the world’s biggest problems was still very much underestimated.
According to him, blockchain has the potential to radically change many societal sectors and to foster open innovation and economic progress.
Goodwin said: “The report stated that by 2030 the blockchain industry can increase Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $29 billion, which can play a significant part in helping Nigeria achieve its Sustainable Development Goals: Reducing poverty, building an inclusive economy, caring for the health and well-being of Nigerian citizens, developing better education opportunities and improving cross-border trade.
“Over the past few years, emerging economies have come to the forefront of blockchain adoption, with Nigeria being one of the frontrunners and the leading country in Africa in terms of cryptocurrency adoption interest. According to a survey conducted by Statista in 2020, 32 per cent of Nigerians have admitted to using or owning cryptocurrencies.
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“The truth remains that Blockchain has come to stay and the emerging technology has the potential to transform and enhance Nigeria’s digital economy as well as foster financial inclusion and employment for Nigeria’s teeming youth population. As more individuals, private and public sector organisations begin to find ways to leverage Blockchain for the work that they do, it’s only imperative that the Nigerian government itself should not be left behind.”
The Country Ambassador stressed that through the impactMarket human empowerment protocol, over 7000 beneficiaries from 20 communities across Nigeria now have access to claim $7 per week and $5.18 per week respectively.
He added: “With this access to more income, beneficiaries have been able to improve the food and nutrition for their families and also improve their small businesses and their standard of livelihood.
“GoodDollar, another UBI protocol also powered by blockchain technology, is also involved in empowering thousands of beneficiaries across Nigeria. Such protocols can be replicated by the government in delivering its social welfare and economic empowerment schemes in a transparent and efficient way thereby delivering quality governance and reducing corruption in several government runned socio-economic empowerment programs.
‘’Although blockchain technology has been lauded for its disruptive benefits in financial inclusion, facilitating payment transactions for goods or services, micro-insurance, micro-loans, cash programming, cash remittances, cross-border transfers, grant management, however blockchain technology is simply not relegated to financial technology (fintech).”
He noted that there are so many other ways to leverage blockchain for human empowerment and economic development such as land titling, providing identity services, improving the transparency of donations, reducing fraud and corruption, and transforming governance systems.
He said: “We therefore, charge the government and its regulatory stakeholders’ bodies to embrace blockchain technology and explore the potentials of this emerging technology. Decisive steps must be taken to explore the benefits of blockchain, else we risk being left behind other nations who are taking various risk-based approaches to regulating blockchain while giving room for the technology to thrive.”