Browsing: Blockchain technology

Blockchain in Africa's supply chains.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently published the Economic Development for Africa 2023 Report. The document, titled "The Potential of Africa to Capture Technology-Intensive Global Supply Chains," looks at Africa's capacity to become a prominent player in global supply chains for "high-technology" industries, which include automobiles, mobile phones, green energy, and healthcare.…

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Digital Asset Tax

Digital assets have become increasingly important in business and commerce, given their growing adoption by institutions, businesses, and individuals globally. Thus, the impact of crypto assets on tax systems has become all but impossible to ignore. As the number of transactions involving crypto assets continues to rise, so does the need for governments to establish a clear policy on taxing such transactions. In such a context, the absence of a deliberate policy position is a policy decision with consequences for tax systems.…

CBDCs in Africa

When CBDCs first came to the fore, many touted such a move as a game-changer in digital finance. Many had thought that the adoption of CBDCs in Africa would take the shape of the adoption of cryptocurrencies, where the region leads in many aspects. However, challenges remain. Lack of the requisite infrastructure, low levels of financial literacy, and operational and regulatory challenges have combined to contribute to low penetration and adoption rates for CBDCs.

The lack of adoption is a current failure point for many launched CBDCs. Nigeria’s eNaira had a million customers one year into its launch, a smattering of its 221 million population. The real challenge of CBDCs lies in developing a clear sense of purpose. African central banks must answer to the kind of role that CBDCs will play in the economy and financial systems.…

Digital payments in Africa
  • An infusion of new investments and regulatory transformations is shaping financial interactions and digital payments in Africa.
  • Africa’s digital payments operations produced around $24 billion in revenue in 2020, comprising domestic and cross-border payments.
  • For Africa’s digital transition to run smoothly, a cohesive environment that ensures investment and funding remains necessary.

Human commerce constantly seeks more efficient exchange mediums, and this innovation is currently intensifying. Consequently, how individuals pay for products and services has changed dramatically in the 21st century. Digital payments in Africa are gradually replacing cash, and cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies have lately emerged as substitutes for conventional money concepts.

Africa has kept up with, and in some instances led, technological advancement. An infusion of new investments and regulatory transformations is shaping financial interactions and digital payments in Africa. Cash remains king in Africa. However, research indicates that its dominance may be challenged in the future years as …

Blockchain technology

Africa is a strong contender for developing technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency owing to the continent’s growing mobile tech adoption rates. Considering the turbulent global financial markets, expensive remittance costs, and restricted banking access, blockchain in Africa offers alternatives to tackle their day-to-day issues.…

A voter places their finger for biometric identification on the KIEMS kit. Kenya's 2022 election was hailed as a success after deploying technology similar to blockchain in relaying results. www.theexchange.africa

True to his word, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chair Wafula Chebukati has emerged victorious from an all-front attack on the commission he chairs and where his mandate was to announce Kenya’s fifth president.

On Tuesday, August 9, 2022, Kenyans held national elections in a voting system that closely mirrored the Bitcoin blockchain. This technology has saved Kenya from what is usual in many African elections- massive vote rigging.

Despite Raila Odinga, one of the contenders disputing the election results, observers from within and outside Kenya were pleased with the process.

East Africa’s investment hub’s democracy has grown, and most African countries now look to Kenya for governance models. Women leadership was a major focus of the recently concluded exercise.…

Ope Babalola. He is the Managing Director of Webb Fontaine. www.theexchange.africa

One of the many lessons learned from the pandemic is that SMEs need to embrace digital transformation, not just to weather unplanned challenges but because it will help them be more competitive and stable. Digital enablement is not just a means of survival. It is a way for SMEs to conduct business more efficiently, which in turn can empower them to expand their operations and earnings further. 

Being nimbler than their big business counterparts, SMEs can quickly rethink their marketing strategies and adopt new technologies to enhance their offerings faster. Digital innovation provides extraordinary opportunities for SMEs. It empowers them to implement new market models, has a greater line of sight across their business, improves traceability, and meet their customers, service providers, and logistics partners, in many instances, all on the same page. 

In the digital trading space, solutions such as import/export platforms, automated cargo-tracking and digital reporting of non-tariff…

Ope Babalola. He is the Managing Director of Webb Fontaine. www.theexchange.africa
  • Digitalization brings new opportunities in trade and creates the potential to underpin resilience in times of crisis
  • The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of US$20 billion a year
  • Single Window can cross-check credentials for consistency and traceability, reducing errors and fraud

The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of US$20 billion a year.

Digitalization brings new opportunities in trade and creates the potential to underpin resilience in times of crisis.

The digital transformation of customs and borders in Africa could improve efficiencies in processes and yield trade gains on the continent of US$20 billion a year. With digital trade in place, pre-existing bottlenecks in infrastructure can be tackled, efficiencies can be leveraged, and Innovative solutions can be harnessed. However, countries in …

With Blockchain one can ascertain proof-of-work and proof-of-authorship if they upload their work. www.theexchange.africa

One arrow in a pirating scheme quiver is the false claim to work or authorship or ownership.  With Blockchain one can ascertain proof-of-work and proof-of-authorship if they upload their work, comply with Blockchain agreements and get their digital certificate which includes a private key, kind of a personal signature.

This can prove ownership of the works as it is time-stamped and known to be in existence.   One can also trace the transactions and copyright use of their works and be able to calculate the intellectual property value in the forms of royalties and license fees and any other form of exploitation either economically or morally. 

For a long time, creatives have decried the often rigid and unclear remuneration process of their royalties, the blame always shuttling between collective management organizations, CMOs and the broadcasters.  …

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