Earlier on, tech revolution was around product development. It took a while, but then it was followed by Open Sourcing of technology – making it accessible to all. Likewise, came in Cryptocurrency – attempting to design a currency for fair and free trade – unbound by the mechanics of taxation, handling charges and federal policies. Backed by Blockchain, it made significant inroads on to the global markets and choreographed some seismic shifts in the way transactions were executed and currency exchanged hands. While the merits and the demerits of such mechanism drew extreme as well as moderate opinions, the one thing it seeded positively into the world’s trade & industry ecosystem was Blockchain.
We are only just beginning to wrap our intentions around the possibilities of blockchain. The industry is identifying how to integrate blockchain with the merits of value, ethics, legality and transaction, we believe the same manifest can be put to deliver on Social Benefit. The tiny blip of a period that Blockchain has existed in human history has offered significant insight into the potential of such a system in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
How?
BlockChain is essentially blocks of data distributed amongst digitally identifiable groups / peers thus forming a chain. This leads to decentralising of information & patterns and catalyses effectiveness in digital identity, remittances, intellectual property ownership, supply chain or ledger management and the overall output of the process. This put together could help in risk mitigation, risk management and risk avoidance.
Essentially, blockchain has trust & transparency built in by design. The burgeoning population in the world is adding newer and not fewer people to the non-banking segment that trades and transacts and does business. Remittances to those sections can be brought on to blockchain initiatives. BitPesa and CariCoin are fact becoming their favourites. And where there is currency exchanging hands, wealth is moving in and poverty is moving out. Likewise, healthcare records managed securely and efficiently though blockchain can identify patterns through disease outbreak data and trigger more efficient relief and response. Not to miss the tremendous impact on making supply chain efficient in such cases.
Next is what?
Imagine a world revolving around trust and transparency built inherently on blockchain, strengthening information sharing between people, organisations, the governing councils and bodies could re-structure our democratic framework and governance mechanism and lead to a building of peace, justice and strong institutions – one of the most important on the SDG list. This will ultimately boost output – of people, of nations, of economies, enable risk mitigation, climate change goals, help pace up smart cities and a seamless market velocity on an algorithm that would be open, distributed, accessible and yet sacrosanct.
Plenty of innovation is underway, disruption is becoming the norm and yet stability is the sole objective. Blockchain may be perceived as a bubble by a few, but we believe it’s a bubble in the ocean that would beget a tide that just might wipe away a lot of unwarranted pain, tension and uneasiness on the planet through the sustainable development goals.
