- During Gitex Africa, the Saudi-based blockchain company openly announced its intent on establishing a stronghold within Africa.
- IR4LAB participated at the First World Maintainance Summit 2023 to showcase how their innovations can aid industrial maintenance.
- Mohammed founded IR4LAB, or the Industrial Revolution 4 Labs, in 2017 after finally realizing the true potential of blockchain technology.
Africa’s digital transformation has caught the entire world by storm. Various countries from all four regions of the continent are each pioneering to attain dominance within the advancing digital economy. However, despite numerous inventions, one category stands out: Africa’s blockchain ecosystem.
Blockchain technology has ushered in a new industrial revolution and forever changed the continent’s trajectory. From introducing a new financial system, fintech, to operating medical databases and providing new voting systems, this new technology has broken barrier after barrier of innovation.
During the Gitex Africa, held in Morroco, IR4LAB, a Saudi-based blockchain company, announced its intent to expand its operation into Africa. This will further promote digital innovation to aid its current revolution.
IR4LAB to transform Africa’s blockchain ecosystem
Within the past decade, Africa shocked the globe by providing an excellent environment for tech innovation. The continent has produced numerous innovations that have broken previous norms and astonished the world. Africa’s blockchain ecosystem has set forth a trajectory that may completely flip the global economy and place the continent at the top of the economic food chain. IR4LABS, a prominent Saudi-based blockchain company, soon embraced this fact and set its sights on the continent’s potential.
During Gitex Africa, the Saudi-based blockchain company openly announced its intent on establishing a stronghold within Africa’s blockchain ecosystem. IR4LABS revealed that this expansion is crucial in its commitments to the African continent and their future.
Read: Egypt, Saudi Arabia seal deals worth US$7.7 billion on Crown Prince’s visit.
With the rapid development of innovation, the organization seeks to implement several blockchain solutions to promote innovation in deep technology and implement new and efficient use cases. Mohamed El Kandri, CTO and Co-Founder of IR4LAB, said, “We are happy to be expanding into the African market. We believe that Africa’s digital economy will grow, and we want to be part of this growth in innovation and digitization and build local capabilities from Morocco to Africa.”
Foundation of IR4LAB
Mohammed founded IR4LAB, or the Industrial Revolution 4 Labs, in 2017 after finally realizing the true potential of blockchain technology. The ideals and visions stem from its goal to pave the way to a new era of innovation and progress within the MENA region. The date of its founding is no coincidence since from 2014 to 2019 is commonly referred to as the Golden Age of Cryptocurrency, the first application of blockchain technology.
Many developers and entrepreneurs realized they could harness cryptocurrency’s real success in other industries during this period. This period also saw a significant increase in new payment service systems that could render traditional banking systems obsolete. With this information, Mohammed set forth to pioneer the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Despite this new announcement at Gitex Africa, the Saudi-based blockchain company has made numerous attempts to set a base in Africa’s blockchain ecosystem. They participated at the First World Maintainance Summit 2023 to showcase how their innovations can aid industrial maintenance.
The Summit, held in Morrocco, played a significant role n expanding their influence within the continent. The IR4LAB successfully explained that blockchain plays a crucial role with the 41R. Its autonomous functionality can significantly aid industrial inspection while offering better technical solutions for some industries.
Read: Oliver Chidawu, Zimbabwe businessman and Emmerson Mnangagwa ally, dies.
Before this, the Saudi-based blockchain company also participated in the LEAP 2023 in Riyadh, KSA. At the event, IR4LAB announced implementing the DocCerts Blockchain Management solutions for all training-related digital documents and ground service equipment licenses. This announcement was part of a partnership with SGS which would issue the permits at 28 Saudi Arabian Airports.
The potential of Africa’s blockchain ecosystem.
To understand the sheer capabilities of Africa’s blockchain ecosystem, we first must understand the technology and how it coincides with the continent. The first implementation of blockchain technology was Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency. Initially, the rest of the globe saw the concept of digital currency as nothing more than a global scam.
However, some parts of Africa, such as Kenya, have successfully implemented one of the first iterations of digital currency, mobile money. The basic principle of blockchain technology revolves around decentralization. Establishing a decentralized finance system means no single entity would store or manage a user’s currency.
Its applications directly challenged the traditional banking system. Its ability to interconnect different users without any geographic issues presented an opportunity for Africa.
Before establishing Africa’s blockchain ecosystem, the continent had unfortunately missed out on all three Industrial revolutions. By a stroke of sheer, because Africa was significantly behind on other technologies, it became strikingly compatible with blockchain.
Blockchain technology goes against the centralized system, which is the building block of most technology. This fact inspired many Africans to take up crypto trading and thrived. Its success later introduced a new era of blockchain startups. Developers found a way to isolate and implement blockchain technology in other industries.
Applications of Blockchain in Africa
Today Africa’s blockchain ecosystem houses numerous startups ranging from different industries. For instance, LandLayby is an organization that has successfully implemented blockchain technology in the real estate industry. It utilized blockchain technology to verify land transactions and create fraud-proof land registries in Kenya and Ghana.
Several developers have also successfully integrated the technology into several; medical institutes. Since blockchain is immutable, it can create a decentralized network. This allows numerous medical institutes to access a single database without infringing privacy and legal issues.
Read: Africa is cryptocurrency-friendlier than you think.
Africa’s blockchain ecosystem also houses several agritech infrastructures, Insurances and governmental uses such as Digital Identification Systems. However, its most prominent application is in the fintech industry. In 2020, McKinsey estimated that African fintech startups acquired around $4 to $6 billion in revenue. This ushered in a new wave of innovation among several innovators.
Today Africa’s blockchain ecosystem recorded a 429% surge in funding in 2022. Several blockchain-based startups raised $474 million in 2022, a rapid jump from $90 million in 2021. Its favourable conditions and ample support from investors have significantly expanded it. With IR4LAB joining in, it would dramatically boost its operation in the Middle East Region.
About Gitex Africa
Gitex Africa is an event that features significant technology players. With the rapid rate of digital transformation, it offers ample enviro ents for innovators to showcase their capabilities and network amongst peers. Gitex Africa was an initiative that sought to interconnect potential startups with a global audience and show the capabilities of Africa in tech.
The Saudi-based blockchain company utilized the sheer influence of the Gitex Africa ad to form a stronghold within the region. It comes s no surprise since the event can already be considered the continent’s most prominent technology show.
Through events such as Gitex Africa, we may see a paid technological advancement in Africa. After gaining a compelling ally like IR4LAB, Afirca’s blockchain ecosystem has a promising future.
