By Kenyans have moved nearly half the equivalent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through their Mobile Phones, underlining the growing importance of Digital Wallets to the economy. That means Kenyans are increasingly adopting the use of Mobile Platforms in Commercial Transactions.
MOBILE MONEY
M-Pesa has its share as the company boasts to have 160,000 M-Pesa Agents, 123,000 Active Lipa na Mpesa (Pay with M-Pesa) Merchants. As of December 2018, Kenya had 31.6 million active users of mobile money transfer services.
Fresh Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that mobile transactions stood at Sh3.98 trillion last year, having increased by Sh346 billion — or 10 percent — from 2017. This translates to an average value of Sh10.92 billion mobile cash transactions per day.
SO WHY BITCOIN? or BLOCKCHAIN?
-Citi analysts rank Kenya among countries with the largest bitcoin holdings. The survey estimates Kenya bitcoin holdings are approximately 2.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) or the annual national output.
-Bitcoin Ownership became profitable.
And, Kenyans immersed themselves into; Bitcoin Trading.
-Finally, there was an ATM in Nairobi.
All these raised raging debates in recent months over the government’s position on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which are based on Blockchain technology,
As cryptocurrency adoption increased, so did the Disruption caused by Blockchain Applications. These warranted the formation of a Kenyan Blockchain & Artificial Intelligence (AI) Taskforce, which was then instituted in February 2018 to study emerging technologies and their use case in the country.
A Short Clip :
Others on the team are, Steve Chege, Juliana Rotich, John Gitau, Mahmoud Mohammed Noor, Dr. Charity Wayua, Elizabeth Ondula, John Walubengo, Lesley Mbogo, Michael Onyango and Fred Michuki.
A REPORT ON THE NEED TO ADAPT TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
As Klaus Schwab, Chairperson of the World Economic Forum has stated,
“We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another.”
In Africa, emerging technologies have already allowed governments to leapfrog legacy infrastructure systems, generate economic growth and promote social inclusion for citizens. This report assesses how the emerging technological revolution could be leveraged to enhance Kenya’s impressive track record of ICT adoption and development.
BLOCKCHAIN
Blockchain is moving from a buzzword to an ‘engine that will power great innovation in the continent with groundbreaking implementations including where, cryptocurrencies as a component, attempts to drive deeper business value with Identified Key Use Cases in:
Kenya’s Big 4 Agenda.
-Improve Cybersecurity.
Operationalizing the Computer Misuse & Cybercrimes Act of 2018 and ensure the national computer and cybercrime co-ordination committee is in place together with regularized enforcement/compliance.
-Land Management
Leverage land digital data to introduce Blockchain and create immutability and increased transparency of land transactions, Review and amend the land titles regimes under the Land Registration Act and the Community Land Act to formulate guidelines for electronic land titling.
Hold public awareness campaigns and training for Land officials and Land practitioners, regarding the technology. Digitize all land records throughout the country.
-Cross border trade creating transparency of all import and export practices which are usually opaque.
-Tracking Mining Activities – this includes; labor, mining practices, and Environmental Representation.
-Commodity Value Chain – Seamless and Transparent Commodity Value Chains, eliminating the need for middlemen.
-Fundraising – Blockchain has been employed to raise funds for different projects and track expenditure
-Eliminate Corruption, strengthening Democracy and Elections.
-Facilitate Financial Inclusion by reducing transaction costs and improved service delivery
-Expand manufacturing and Eliminate Counterfeits and Improve Drug Safety.
The promise of a trustless system continues, however, to create dissonance. On one hand, Blockchain systems are projected as wholesale replacements for institutions, and, on the other, ‘co-innovation’ is demanded from the same institutions to enable Blockchain systems to become viable, which in this case becomes a palpable contradiction.
NON – CRYPTOCURRENCY BASED BLOCKCHAIN IMPLEMENTATIONS.
UTU HOUSE – HOME OF AI & BLOCKCHAIN IN NAIROBI.
UTU means humanity in Swahili. The name reminds of a company’s roots in Kenya and, a vision of a safer, more trusted digital world, built around relationships just like the real-world, with UTU’s Trust API seamlessly serving up personalized recommendations for trusted service providers on sharing platforms to drive your conversion, satisfaction, retention, and viral acquisition.
RWANDA: BLOCKCHAIN TRACKING OF CONFLICT METAL.
This time it’s Rwanda, as the African nation has recently looked to blockchain in order to track supply chains for the metal tantalum which is used in consumer electronics. This comes in a bid for the country to address concerns about conflict metals & minerals in global markets.
NOTABLES
-An early Blockchain-based educational system was developed by IBM Researchers and deployed in Mombasa, Kenya in 2015-16. This system used Blockchain to biometrically identify students and track their educational progress.
-IBM Research Africa has partnered with the wholesale food distributor Twiga Foods to create a Blockchain-based platform to offer loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
-In January 2018, IBM and Maersk began a global joint venture applying Blockchain technology to shipping logistics, with a focus on the shipping lane from Mombasa, Kenya to Rotterdam in The Netherlands. After a 12-month beta, this joint venture culminated in the August 9, 2018 announcement of TradeLens, which is a Blockchain-based shipping platform.
PROMINENT ALTERNATIVES AND CRYPTOCURRENCY IMPLEMENTATIONS.
BitPesa is a Blockchain-based digital foreign exchange and payment platform geared to ‘frontier markets’. It was founded in November 2013 with headquarters in Nairobi and offices in Lagos, London, Luxembourg, and Dakar.
BANGLAPESA
BanglaPesa is not Blockchain-based, i.e. it is a so-called “complementary currency” that works in addition to the standard Kenyan currency (the Kenyan shilling).
101: Here, physical bills are issued that represent units of the Bangla-Pesa currency. It has become the medium of exchange for goods and services among the residents of the poor district of Mombasa known as Bangladesh. This currency is only accepted in this particular area of the city, and, unlike vouchers that are tied to a particular good or service
Enables anyone i.e. investors, broker-dealers, companies, and law firms, to tokenize real-world assets, starting with equity, and issue them as legally enforceable security tokens on the Stellar blockchain.
BANCOR NETWORK
In June 2018, the Bancor Network announced plans to launch a network of blockchain-based community currencies in Kenya. The founder of Bangla-Pesa and Eco-Pesa, Will Ruddick, is also behind this initiative.
Bancor is a network that allows users to convert between two crypto-tokens in an exchange-like manner without requiring a counter-party to the transaction. This system calculates prices automatically and has built-in liquidity guarantees.
CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY IN UGANDA
Wala, the blockchain-powered financial services platform
Wala, the blockchain-powered financial services platform which launched in South Africa early this year, is pursuing the opportunity to develop a solar power program. Wala’s blockchain-enabled project will use Dala as its main transactional cryptocurrency to build a clean energy economy in Uganda.
The fusion of these technologies is redefining organizations around the world and giving rise to new business models that were unimaginable only a few years ago, and for this reason the report establishes a clear and concise strategy for the implementation of Blockchain (DLT) and AI to address the core needs and concerns of the Kenyan people while building an effective roadmap to drive the country into the fourth industrial revolution.
Below is a summarized list of the key implementation of strategic components
-NATIONAL DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
The goal of the National Digital Infrastructure is to provide governance and services on demand, which will be seamlessly integrated across departments and/or jurisdictions to provide easy and single-window access to all citizens.
-A DIGITAL ASSET FRAMEWORK,
Enabling Cryptocurrencies and Other Alternative Currencies in Kenya.
–REGULATORY SANDBOX FOR FINTECH INNOVATIONS
A summary of regulatory approaches, ranging from doing nothing, cautious permissiveness based on a case-by-case analysis, structured experimentalism (such as sandboxes or piloting) and the development of specific new regulatory frameworks
-DIGITAL CURRENCY (DIGITAL FIAT MONEY)
Digital currency, sometimes referred to as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Fiat Currency (DFC), is the digital form of fiat money, which is a currency established as money by government regulation or law.
-TOKENIZATION OF THE ECONOMY, AJIRA PLATFORM
Blockchain is about to become disruptive by creating a more inclusive world of investment. Similar to the early days of investing in shares, it will be confusing at the beginning.
-CYBERSECURITY
As we digitize more and more, the data generated and systems in place are constantly susceptible to threats
-DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS
The goal is to enhance governance and transparency and allow citizens to participate in the election process and actively participate in enhancing democracy
-GOVERNMENT OF KENYA BIG 4 AGENDA
Enhanced Manufacturing, Food Nutrition and Security, Universal Healthcare and Affordable Housing.
-PUBLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
Public interest can be promoted by making decisions that are grounded in facts while anticipating unknowns.
–AN IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP
The key areas targeted for Blockchain and AI implementation include Ministry of Lands, which has already been digitized and thus is ready for digital transformation; Public Service Delivery, particularly the Huduma Centres; and, Financial inclusion programs leveraging the advanced mobile money that has enabled greater inclusivity in the country.
In Conclusion.
This taskforce has envisaged how emerging technologies can be implemented in Kenya in a manner that impacts positively on the national economy and development. Kenya has an impressive history of being at the forefront of ICT development in Africa and has shown its willingness to embrace innovation, and it’s our belief that the implementation of the recommendations set forth will position Kenya favorably within the emerging technology space.
I think it’s time Kenya demonstrated to the rest of the world that the effective use of emerging technologies is instrumental to fostering economic development.
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