The Gambia, a small nation in West Africa, will launch a blockchain-powered digital platform to improve and streamline the delivery of public services.
The country has partnered on the initiative with the Kalp Foundation, a non-profit organization based in northern India that promotes embrace blockchain technology within the public sector. Together, the two will launch Gambia One, a new app built on Kalp’s blockchain infrastructure to digitize critical government services.
The foundation’s founder, Tapan Sangal, stated that the partnership is aimed at helping The Gambia in “its journey towards becoming a future-ready nation powered by a robust blockchain-powered digital ecosystem.”
“Our partnership with The Gambia marks the beginning of a series of transformative engagements designed to provide nations with a sustainable and inclusive digital public infrastructure.”
The Gambia is a small nation with a population of under three million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.4 billion, ranking it among the 20 smallest economies globally. Structural constraints, such as internet and smartphone penetration, have limited the use of digital assets in the region.
However, with Gambia One, residents do not need to be blockchain savvy to reap the benefits. The normal public services they have received from the government will transition to blockchain in the background, making them faster, safer and more efficient while still being accessible. Gambier can now too owns their data on the blockchain platform.
“Together, we will harness the power of blockchain-enabled DPI to deliver innovative, citizen-centric solutions that align with global standards of trust, transparency and accountability. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to building a brighter, more inclusive future for our nation,” commented Lamin Jabbi, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
The Gambia will join its West African peer Nigeria, which leads the continent in terms of blockchain adoption. Last year, Nigeria announced that it was in the early stages of build Nigeriaa national blockchain network focused on data sovereignty.
These initiatives highlight the struggle public institutions face when choosing between decentralized public blockchain networks such as BSV and private networks. In announcing Nigerium, the Nigerian government cited the Ethereum transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) as an example where millions of Nigerians using the network were not consulted, deeply affecting their assets and data. In its initiative, the Government of The Gambia will build its blockchain app on the Kalp Foundation’s private decentralized network.
It is not only in Africa; Estonia’s government has been using blockchain the longest, but it relies on a custom network it developed called KSI Blockchain. Georgia’s blockchain registration is performed on Exonum, a private blockchain developed by Dutch DLT company Bitfury.
However, public networks are still the only solution. In addition, have BSV blockchain has resolved many barriers previously cited against public blockchains. For example, its Overlay network offers privacy similar to a private network while leveraging the decentralized network for security.
East Africa uses blockchain to clean up the environment
On the coasts of East Africa, blockchain becomes central to efforts to clean up environmentwith locals incentivized with digital tokens for their participation in cleanup initiatives.
In coastal Kenya, local startup Aqua purge is leading efforts to clean up the Indian Ocean, which serves as the main source of livelihood for the region, from attracting tourists to fishing and port activities. Aquapurge rewards locals who participate in the cleanup with digital assets, which they can sell for cash or use to make payments at participating stores.
According to one Reportled the startup’s activities to the collection of 5.4 tons of waste by the end of 2023.
In neighboring Tanzania, another startup is leading the cleanup of local rivers in Dar es Salaam, the largest city. Unlike its Kenyan counterpart, Get dirty does not rely on tokens; rather, it works with local people to collect plastic waste on the rivers, recycle it, and then pay them with the revenue generated. The startup uses blockchain to track the processes for waste collection and recycling.
Watch: Is Your Business Ready to Ride the Wave of Blockchain Adoption?
title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross- origin” allowfullscreen=””>
