Kenya firms urged to adopt blockchain, AI

Kenya should adopt blockchain technology to alleviate some of the challenges facing the economy. This is the recommendation of a task force that brought together some of the country’s top minds as reported by local outlet The Daily Nation. The application of blockchain technology together with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence can solve many of the challenges in the finance, housing, healthcare, food security, land and government sectors, the task force concluded.

Called the Distributed Ledger Technologies and Artificial Intelligence Task Force, it was led by Bitange Ndemo, a former senior official in the Ministry of Information and the chairperson of the Blockchain Association of Kenya, Roselyn Gicira.

The task force singled out the shipping industry as one of the industries that can really benefit from the use of blockchain technology, AI and IoT. The industry suffers from lack of traceability and data insecurity, with importers struggling with product recalls. This also creates a loophole that some corrupt officials exploit for tax evasion.

Speaking to the outlet, one blockchain expert stated, “I know a man who lost six containers of avocados just because his importer said they were rejects. There was no verifiable and trusted second opinion, something that blockchain, AI and IoT can solve.”

The task force recommended the use of blockchain-based container registry which will record who owns and operates a container in a traceable manner. The platform can also tokenize the containers, making it easy to log changes and transfers in possession of a container in a traceable way.

The task force further called on the government to move its citizen’s database to a blockchain platform. In the past year, the Kenyan government has kicked off an initiative known as Huduma Namba which requires all Kenyans to register all their details with a national identity system that will serve as a single source of truth. The system is expected to serve as a reference point for ease of service delivery to the citizens.

One of the members of the task force noted, “To solve this, the Huduma Act needs to be revised to ensure all Huduma Namba data is captured on a government blockchain to ease identity. Thereafter, mobile fintech solutions can be developed on blockchain by digitising assets using the Movable Property Security Rights Act of 2017.”

Furthermore, the task force called on the government to include blockchain technology on the school curriculum, ensuring that the country’s young minds grasp it from an early age, preparing them for the future.

Just recently, the Nigerian securities regulator set up a committee that will work on a regulatory framework for the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. The regulator is said to be setting up the infrastructure for the inclusion of digital currencies in the country’s capital market.
