By Abbas Badmus

For those who may not know, blockchain is an emerging technology that provides a secured distributive ledger platform for seamless transactions for new opportunities that benefit industries through greater transparency, enhanced security and easier traceability.

Blockchain is not only becoming a legitimate disruptor in a myriad of industries, it has become so promising. Tech giant, IBM has invested about $200million on the system. About 60% of Nigerian and African startups are deep into researching blockchain options.

Acclaimed ICT experts, who appreciate the potential of blockchain, say the technology can revolutionize government, research, finance, insurance and personal identity security.

Blockchain technology may not be cryptocurrency but it enables anything of value like currencies, identities, information, intellectual property, securities, and votes, to be stored, managed, or transferred efficiently, securely, and transparently, without a central authority or third party.

Areas where blockchain technology is applied include education, agriculture, aviation, banking & finance, entertainment, health, international trade, manufacturing, oil & gas, real estate, sports, telecommunications, and transportation. Some examples of companies in Nigeria are HouseAfrica, Nairaex, Bitkoin Afrika, Buycoins, and Ellcrys.

Indigenous firms with little or no foreign investment are performing wonders in digital researches delivery. One of such is Research and Innovation Network (RiNET), designed to collate, preserve, manage, disseminate, digitise and safeguard the intellectual property of research contents. 

These contents are stored in a centralized platform to create interconnectivity of research innovations (theoretical and technical base) that will facilitate the exchange of ideas, information, and research methodology from different demographics of tertiary institutions personnel, students, and independent researchers.

The CEO, Usman Murtala told TechDigest that their startup will contribute greatly to the tech ecosystem by promoting increased demand for made in Nigeria products and showcasing cutting-edge innovative research to prospective stakeholders and investment partners.

“We are providing an opportunity for collaborative research, small, large-scale projects and expansion of institutional visibility access. We facilitate new research opportunities, give access to international grant opportunities, intervention and serve as a source of revenue generation for beneficiary institutions”, he said.

Blockchain has shown massive growth over time and this prompted many startups who believe the technology is the beginning of a change in Nigeria. It has made many aware and curious as to how they can be a great part of the wealth.

However, any new technology will always go through a hype stage. It takes a lot of time to get rid of the challenges and power the modern world; the blockchain is not different. Although there are many possibilities, the early stages will have to grapple with issues including adoption.

Inefficient technological design, low scalability, lack of privacy, no regulation, high energy consumption, and criminal connection among others are challenges facing blockcain acceptance in Nigeria.

Just like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain is an emerging technology. Therefore, no law or regulation is required as of now to make it acceptable in Nigeria. 

In any case, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has published a National Blockchain Adoption Strategy that recognizes blockchain technology. 

The blockchain industry is capable of attracting huge foreign direct investment (FDI) if the government creates robust regulation and an enabling environment for competition and expansion to other markets.

To blockchain startups in Nigeria, now is the time for them to come up with technical innovative products that could help solve problems in many vital industries and boost country’s digital economy.

Abbas Badmus writes from Wuye District, Abuja.