Smart Africa launches Blockchain Whitepaper for Africa with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

KIGALI, RWANDA, 2020-Sep-04 — /EPR Network/ — Smart Africa in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) today launched a Blockchain Whitepaper for Africa. The whitepaper is an analysis of blockchain technologies, their use cases, opportunities and challenges for Africa over the next decade.

The purpose is to inform African decision and policymakers about viable use cases and about the policy choices that need to be made in order to take full advantage of distributed ledgers and related technologies.

“The role of Smart Africa is to provide governments and decision-makers with credible analyses on technologies that impact Africa’s digital agenda. This whitepaper serves that purpose. We believe in the positive potential of blockchain technologies. The only way to make them work for Africa is to understand the opportunities so we may amplify them and to understand the threats so we may mitigate against them. The partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a valued partner towards Africa’s digital transformation, has been key in the development of this whitepaper,” said Lacina Koné the Director-General of Smart Africa.

The whitepaper looks at blockchain with a focus on its key characteristics and remaining shortfalls. In addition to drawing on the actual practicability of the specific use cases based on the technology available to date, the paper also considers the maturity of existing use cases.

“Roughly a decade after its inception, blockchain remains outside the comfort zone of many policy and decision makers, while the technology needs to interlink more and more into legislative and financial frameworks. That is why we welcomed the opportunity to work on this whitepaper with our esteemed partner, the Smart Africa Secretariat on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, to showcase existing use-cases for the application of the technology – specifically on the African continent. We hope it will inform and support decisionmakers about the policy choices that need to be made to take full societal advantage of distributed ledgers and related technologies” said Martin Kraft, Country Director of GIZ Rwanda.

The paper further evaluates digital payment infrastructures, including central bank digital currencies, public spending and governance, peer-to-peer energy trading, digital claims to land ownership, digital claims to education credentials, tracing agricultural goods along supply chains and Trade facilitation in greater detail.

Through this Blockchain Whitepaper for Africa, African governments will have a basis and a reference for the inclusion of blockchain technologies within their national strategies. This is expected to have a positive influence on government efficiency, accountability and private sector innovation among several other benefits.

The Blockchain Whitepaper for Africa can be accessed from comms@smartafrica.org

 

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About Smart Africa 

Smart Africa is a bold and innovative commitment to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent and usher Africa into the knowledge economy through affordable access to broadband and use of ICTs. With a vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030, the Smart Africa Alliance brings together Heads of State who seek to accelerate the digitalization of the continent and create a common market. Launched in 2013 by seven (7) African Heads of State, the Alliance now has 30 member countries, representing over 750 million people and over 40 Private Sector members committed to the vision and the advancement of Africa.

 

For more information, contact:

Smart Africa Secretariat

Garikai Nhongo

E-mail: garikai.nhongo@smartafrica.org

Website: www.smartafrica.org

Twitter: @RealSmartAfrica

Facebook: RealSmartAfrica

 

About Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. We support the German Government in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. We are also engaged in international education activities around the globe. Through our work we assist people and societies in shaping their own future and improving living conditions.