NITDA explains strategy for effective utilization of Blockchain to create digital economy – WorldStage
*As a global market for blockchain to reach over 39 billion dollars by 2025
WorldStage Newsonline – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Wednesday said it had developed a Blockchain Adoption Strategy to facilitate effective use of Blockchain technology to create a digital economy.
Director General of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa, who spoke at the Blockchain Summit Day at the ongoing Digital Nigeria Conference and Exhibition organized by the agency in Abuja.
“Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that simplifies the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network.
Addressing the conference themed “Digital Transformation: A Path to Sustainable Digital Economy”, Inuwa said NITDA was inclined to deploy its statutory responsibilities towards innovative technologies to develop strategies for a healthy IT ecosystem that encapsulates emerging technology such as Blockchain .
“The strategy outlines the roadmap and arrangements for the adoption of Blockchain technology by government in the digital transformation agenda, in a way that supports efficiency, transparency and productivity,” he said.
He added that as technology continued to drive new business and service models, the agency had recognized the need to deepen adoption of the strategy to protect citizens and ensure fair markets that were driven by innovation.
He also said that they promote the healthy growth and security of the country’s digital economy through the right implementation strategy that will drive the adoption of the technology in both the public and private sectors.
Inuwa said: “We are currently piloting the implementation scheme in two federal government sectors and building a Proof of Concept (POC) on the implementation of the National Blockchain Strategies.
“In this regard, the agency is creating a national infrastructure for the deployment of blockchain solutions in a government institution that integrates identity and incentive platforms.
“Similarly, the agency is taking steps to replicate and implement regulatory sound boxes adopted by countries such as the UK, India, Australia, Canada and Denmark.
“Regulatory sandboxes will enable participants to test products and services on a small scale in a controlled environment, reducing innovation costs and barriers to entry.
“It also allows regulators to gather important information about innovative products before deciding what regulatory action to take.”
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY TO GROW
Inuwa said the success of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Metaverse and Web3 began to take over the industrial and financial space.
“With Blockchain Technology supporting these new time concepts, we can expect the future to belong to decentralized resources.
“After cryptocurrencies gained a lot of traction, blockchain technology emerged as one of the most promising technologies to transform businesses.
“Today, many large and medium-sized companies are exploring Blockchain’s potential to gain a place in the competitive market.
“The global blockchain technology market is expected to grow over US$39 billion by 2025,” Inuwa said.
The Directorate General also said that the NFT market alone had a steady growth as financial and other activities moved from physical to digital.
Inuwa further said that Blockchain was at a point where large companies and governments were beginning to understand its potential to improve people’s lives and build more robust organizations.
He explained that the metaverse concept had become a real phenomenon, with many popular platforms enjoying huge user bases.
The DG said: “One of the important aspects of the metaverse design is decentralization, which will enable transparency and seamless access to the metaverse.
“Apart from decentralization, metaverse also relies on blockchain capabilities to secure user management privileges along with verifiable provenance.”
Inuwa added that blockchain pushed for the rise of digital transparency and integrity, leading to sweeping changes in business models and government functions.
According to him, “it will facilitate the development of the Nigerian digital economy by supporting our digital transformation agenda in a manner that promotes efficiency, transparency and productivity.
“Innovators in diverse fields are maximizing the benefits of this incredible technology from medicine to agriculture, finance, governance, education, transportation and across the global supply chain.
“Innovators are exploring ways to use blockchain technologies to disrupt and transform traditional process models. “With its decentralized and trustless nature, Blockchain technology can lead to new opportunities, benefiting industries through greater transparency, improved security and easier traceability.”
