B is for Blockchain

I recently attended an event hosted by Humaniq a financial services provider focusing on providing services to the unbanked using blockchain. An interesting place for me to be because I am not a techie nor have I worked in the fintech sector. However, my keen interest in ICT4D and equalizing the resource pyramid made the event appealing to me. (Also, after almost four months in Nairobi I still had not visited the much talked about entrepreneurs club, Metta, where the event was held.)

First, a disclaimer; this is not an article on everything you need to know about blockchain for development but rather a curated list of articles that you may find useful in helping you understand the ins and outs of blockchain for development. This collection is for non-techies who work in the development/social impact space that would like to get up to speed on blockchain and try to ascertain whether it can be of benefit for your work.

A little more background on the event hosted by Humaniq; the company had launched a challenge earlier this year seeking concepts that used blockchain to create solutions for the world’s unbanked population. Winners received support from the Humaniq team to facilitate the development of their concepts and a chance to enter the Humaniq accelerator. The event, with the appropriately selected hashtag #Blockchain4Good showcased the top three finalists of the Humaniq challenge. These were:

MicroAid which is trying to help small farmers in Indonesia access local financial services using peer-to-peer blockchain identity and asset verification. (The photograph to the right is of their founder Richard Beresford presenting their project.)

Signstampo from the United Kingdom is a file signing system that uses blockchain technology to demonstrate file authorship, date and stamp accurately. It also allows users to legalize their files without the need for a notary

UnbankedX based in Singapore created a blockchain-based remote job platform for Africa's young, educated smart-phone driven workforce. It allows users to sign up for remote jobs from their mobile phone and get paid in cryptocurrencies

The winners of the challenge made me consider the breadth of possibilities available for 'blockchain4good' and I set about learning more about blockchain beyond its use for cyptocurrencies – specifically BitCoin for which it has become synonymous.

A simple definition of blockchain is that it is a digital ledger that records and verifies transactions. One of its key benefits is this verification feature which means transactions are not corruptible as they are not stored in one place but across a network of computers and every time a transaction is made the computers on the network verify it by checking the entire series of transactions. To get an overall idea of what blockchain is and how it can be used in development and humanitarianism, I read an article in the Guardian by Katherine Purvis.

If you have the basics down and are fairly competent in tech-speak then a ‘geeky’ guide to blockchain might be just what you need. Good news, there is literally a beginners guide to blockchain created by 'geeks' called What is Blockchain Technology? A Step-by-Step Guide For Beginners -an in-depth guide by BlockGeeks.

One of the things that really peaked my interest was using blockchain to track government payments, especially in the age of Panama Papers. The UK government has already experimented with using the protocol to track the spending of welfare recipients but I really see huge benefits in using blockchain to provide transparency and accountability on large transactions between donors and governments. There are a lot of uses for blockchain in the area of smart contracts, tracking welfare and entitlements that practitioners in development may find useful –whatever side of the ICT4D spectrum you fall on in terms of tech ability. This SlideShare from Digital Transformation Partners can help you assess the possibilities in terms of blockchain for public payments.

Before I make it seem like blockchain is like the second coming of the mobile phone of tech for development, there are some serious criticism and barriers to consider, not least the huge energy demands this unique protocol incurs. One thing is certain, cryptocurrencies and blockchain should be included in the lexicon and ‘bag of tricks’ of development practitioners seeking innovative solutions for some of our most challenging problems.

Full disclosure: I won a branded cap from Humaniq for my social media prowess during the event. Check out the hashtag #blockchain4good on Twitter and Instagram to see more highlights from the event.