“Blockchain is the new Internet of Value” states Laurent Lamothe at Smart Africa conference 2018
(PRWEB) May 21, 2018 -- On 9 th May 2018, at the Transform Africa Summit (TAS), Hon. Laurent Lamothe, former Prime Minister of Haiti, CEO of LSL World Initiative and founder of the Dr. Louis G. Lamothe Foundation, made a presentation on Blockchain before leading a panel discussion focusing on Blockchain technologies for Africa. In his presentation, Laurent Lamothe introduced Blockchain as one of the “game changers” that would contribute to reducing financial exclusion in Africa, by facilitating and securing electronic transactions, including those made using cryptocurrencies.
The former Prime Minister of Haiti explained that he had decided to join the Blockchain community after his country’s government records (tax, elections, land registrations, etc.) were lost when the building that hosted them collapsed during the 2010 earthquake. In his view, the information would still be available had it been securely stored using a system like Blockchain. It is at that stage that he realized that Blockchain could help governments better serve their citizens and improve inclusion.
In comparison to less modern electronic payment systems, Blockchain has a very light, inexpensive and easy-to- implement infrastructure, and is virtually immune to data loss. Ease of access is also a major selling point: a mobile phone is all the equipment required to connect to the database. Despite generating growing interest on the part of African governments and institutions, Blockchain has encountered some measure of reluctance, due to a lack of information and confidence in the technology and in cryptocurrencies, as well as to the absence of appropriate regulation.
Laurent Lamothe highlighted the fact that governments, state agencies and IT providers respectively have an important role to play in lifting the barriers to the optimal use of Blockchain. The first two are responsible for promoting the widespread adoption of the technology by both financial institutions and the general public, and for appropriately adapting the existing regulatory and legal frameworks, while the second must provide the necessary technical and regulatory assistance and ensure the transparency and accountability of the digital financial services ecosystem.
Asked how he felt about his presentation, Laurent Lamothe said he was proud to have been given the opportunity to address the TAS’s audience on such an engaging topic as the Internet of Value that is Blockchain. He was also happy to report that his presentation was very well attended, that the atmosphere was uplifting and that the audience certainly seemed to have left happy.
Cecilia Braunagel, LSL World Initiative, http://www.lslwi.com, +27 214257609, [email protected]
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