The Nation Newspaper

Tag: blockchain

  • ‘How blockchain can improve business transaction’

    The Cofounder, Cheetah Africa, Lucky Uwakwe has called on African leaders to harness the opportunities in the Fintech and Blockchain technology to help improve business opportunities and transparency in governance.

    Uwakwe made this known in an interview with The Nation at the launch of Cheetah Africa Fintech and Blockchain conference held in Lagos recently.

    The event brought together financial experts in the financial sector, ICT, software producers, management experts, and entrepreneurs across Africa. The event featured pitches by startups to get opportunities for partnership, collaboration and funding support.

    He said that the need for Africa leaders to embrace the opportunities in the blockchain industry is key as it will help to tightly keep record of transactions in both the public and private sectors and strengthened the fight against fraud and corruption across the region.

    He noted that the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde recently appealed to leaders across the continent to harness the economic opportunities in the blockchain industry as Blockchain technologies can create an economy that is not only about goods and services but that is also more open, inclusive, fair, and secure across Africa.

    Although he noted that there is few risk involve in the Blockchain industry but over the years, the risk has reduce as more players in the industry continue to understand the volatility in the sector.

    He said the world is convinced that Africa is the new market; the scramble for this Virgin land has started. We will no longer wait for the right time as the time is now. Every venture capital firm in the word should know that if they don’t invest in Africa now, they will pay the price of neglect later.

    “Cheetah is the fastest platform to meet Africa business by Africans. By building the most innovative product focused in fintech and blockchain startups,” he said.

    Earlier in his welcome address at the event, the Executive Director of Cheetah Africa, Nathaniel Luz reinstated the commitment of the firm toward providing a workable and pragmatic support based for African startups through blockchain technology.

    He said that 60% of Africans are youths who have immerse innovative ideas that can make Africa great among the continent of the world but they lack well structure support base that will make their dreams fly.

    Luz said we are losing our best youths in Africa because there are very few support systems to help young people make their dreams come alive.

    He stressed that our vision at cheetah Africa is to be the pool of African startups and innovations, providing them with the necessary support structures needed for global relevance, scalability and competitiveness.

    “We provide a platform for venture capitalists and investors to access the best of Africa ideas and products,” he said.

  • Prospects of blockchain

    Prospects of blockchain

    The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) economy will likely continue its steady growth with both government and private sector organisations paying close attention to cloud technology and its enormous potential. Closely linked with IoT is blockchain. LUCAS AJANAKU writes on this emerging technology and its future as private and public organisations move to entrench transparency, profitability and others.

    To the Managing Director, Accenture Technology, Nigeria, Olaniyi Tayo, if 2017 was the year of blockchain early adoption by mainstream businesses, 2018 to 2027 will be a decade when blockchain solutions will disrupt many industries across the world.

    According to Accenture research, by 2025, blockchain will be considered mainstream and integral to the capital market and ecosystem.

    An online platform, investopedia.com said:“A blockchain is a digitised, decentralised, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. … Originally developed as the accounting method for the virtual currency, Bitcoin, blockchains, which use what is known as distributed ledger technology (DLT), are appearing in a variety of commercial applications today.”

    According to Tayo, blockchain offers the chance to truly rewrite the way companies and markets operate by delivering greater transparency and trust, removing redundant processes and revamping inefficient capabilities. Beyond simply automating old processes, blockchain eliminates steps and activities amongst businesses and facilitates the restructuring of traditional value chains.

    From financial industry to healthcare, retail, oil and gas, manufacturing, trade, agriculture, blockchain is redefining ways businesses operate and leading to the ‘Internet of Value’.

    “Accenture is at the forefront of blockchain innovation and its practical, real world application. We recently demonstrated our innovation in Lagos, Nigeria, in December last year. We provided business executives with a view of the blockchain-based technology landscape and its potential business applications. Our global team of experts works with each client to help build and execute smart strategies around effective use-cases and investment.

    “Blockchain has the potential to drive profound, positive change. We are working closely with leaders from across a broad range of industries, governments, consortia, the academic community and our key technology alliances to move the technology forward so that, ultimately, it can help to improve the way the world lives and works,” Tayo said.

    In the financial services industry, blockchain technology undermines the ‘middle-man’ business model. It makes it harder for fraud in transactions and so reduces the value of credibility lent by trusted intermediaries. Therefore, players in this industry will have to re-imagine their business models given this disruption in their value chain.

    Oracle Nigeria Managing Director, Adebayo Sanni, agreed no less with Tayo on the power of blockchain as game changer, but stressed the need for data security as IoT gains more traction within the information communication technology (ICT) ecosystem.

    He said: “Business and government have to remain relevant and competitive if they wish to participate on the global stage and the adoption of cloud and the technologies that surround it are instrumental. As an example, the Nigerian government has prioritised the need for transparency in both public and private sectors and one of the technologies set to address these issues is very likely to be blockchain.

    “Blockchain-based solutions can potentially reduce corruption, and improve government operations efficiency and service delivery. At the same time, we also need to take data security and privacy seriously. In many countries, data sovereignty laws require government and businesses to keep their data in country and these challenges must be addressed if we are truly to transform and position Nigeria as a hotbed of technological innovation in Africa.

    “In spite of these challenges, numerous companies are breaking tradition and creating disruptive waves. Many are creating solutions that are born in the cloud that allow for innovation through agility, quicker deployment and competitive pricing – all disrupting the market and continent in new ways.”

    According to technology experts, the healthcare industry has high hopes for blockchain technology since interoperability, or the ability to securely share medical records across providers and patients, is the driving force behind many technology investments within healthcare. It is widely believed that blockchain will be the technology that will form the basis of securely creating and sharing medical records that will solve many of healthcare’s current issues of siloed stores of data that lead to the delays and administrative burden of sharing health information.

    Every industry must start utilising blockchain technology as a foundation to explore the convergence of a variety of technological tools to address customer-centric needs and social problems that provide excellent business opportunities.

    “Those that take advantage of this will be rewarded with a resilient and anti-fragile digital infrastructure that enables the cultivation of efficient ecosystems, better products and services, lower costs at scale and improved outcomes for all,” Accenture said.

  • ‘Blockchain, others will disrupt insurance business’

    Blockchain in combination with Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT) will disrupt insurance business, if insurers are not prepared for the internet revolution that is happening around the world, Managing Director, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Olusegun Omosehin, has said.

    Omosehin, who stated this while delivering a paper at the Graduation and Fellowship Awards Ceremony of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) in Lagos, said the internet revolution portends danger for insurance, if experts do not reinvent themselves.

    He described IoT as objects, a network  of vehicles, machines, home appliances  and other items that use sensors and APIs  to  connect  and exchange  data  over  the Internet, saying insurers will need to tailor their offers and services to the real needs of their customers.

    He said for many, this would entail a radical shift in their core processes, such as new product development, customer contact and claims process design, pointing out that the new digital paradigm requires that silos between branches and functions be broken.

    Omosehin said insurers need to identify signup suitable partners to develop more ecosystem offerings  and Infirmation Technology systems to operate at a different level, adding that consumer data must be  accessible while operations need to happen in real time.

    He said adapting to the digital world required a sound knowledge of the technology on offer; ability to develop, test and pilot at the right pace; readiness to fail in an entrepreneurial spirit; and capacity to do all that without jeopardising the core business.

    He said insurers will also have to scan the horizon for new game-changing technology that may be too far ahead to commercialise now, but could have a significant long-term impact on the industry, stressing that new capabilities offered by Big Data technologies need to be embedded within insurance and to support most of the underlying changes.

    “Like the democratic  revolution that preceded  it, the internet  revolution is a time for dramatic changes in our cultural and  business assumptions. As professional  insurers, we  must be prepared  to reinvent  ourselves before  others disrupt  us. Blockchain in combination  with Big Data and Internet of Things will  change  the  insurance world, Omosehin said.

    “We  need to  enable efficiency  and  flexibility  in the  business  of  insurance;  the internet  revolution has made this possible. Be  aware  that we  do  not have borders, or  boundaries  anymore,  the whole  world  is  going  to open  as  your population. As the newest and  the finest  of  our professionals,  the Internet revolution has opened  the doors  of innovation  and  placed it at  your  feet”, he said.

    CIIN President, Mrs. Funmi Babington-Ashaye, said the graduation and awards followed the Governing Council’s ratification of the award of the institute’s Fellowship to six members and the election of 175 members as Associates after satisfying the requirements.

    She told the graduands that the institute possesses the power to appropriately discipline any Associate or Fellow that has been found to have been involved in any conduct unbecoming of am insurance professional.

  • Fashola, surveyors and blockchain technology

    The mention of cryptocurrencies brings about diverse views globally. But when they are put aside, focusing on the evolution that is seldom associated with them becomes easy.

    The underlying blockchain technology, which powers cryptocurrencies, is worth a study. The application of this decentralized system fits perfectly into several use cases globally.

    In Nigeria, its potential use cases abound. It can be used to arrange transactions at the port or to raise funds for flood victims. Blockchain’s advent is truly disrupting traditional models.

    It could also be used for the housing minister’s suggestion to the Surveyors Council of Nigeria to make a national digital map.

    Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola recently urged the group to raise funds for the project. And that means work may have started on this project. Nonetheless, not privy to what may be ongoing, the concept of crowdfunding comes to mind.

    Blockchain’s smart contract feature is best known for achieving such a goal. For example, the surveyors run a not-for-profit group. Their financial position may not be strong enough to implement their sound idea.

    They need money to complete the map which will benefit the general masses in several ways. The map will serve security outfits, multinationals, ministries, departments and agencies. They can charge for its use to generate income.

    There comes blockchain-based initial coin offering (ICO). The crowdfunding method can help fund the project by issuing tokenized assets.

    Many Nigerians can invest in bits to support it and earn passing income with time.

    Transactions on blockchain are transparent. The system is tamper-proof and inputted data cannot be altered. The system’s openness promotes accountability.

    This aspect needs to be looked into. Cryptocurrencies should not be somewhat synonymous to a “get rich quick” means. Rather, a delve into identifying how the evolution they bring will improve us should be prioritised.

     

    • Olusegun Ogundeji,

    Barcelona.