Nigeria could potentially expect a revenue stream of between $6 billion to 10 billion in the next decade thanks to Blockchain technology according to a key government official. Director-General Kashifu Inuwa of the Nigeria National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) believes that the technology can help the country improve on its earnings.
A Nov 5 NITDA meeting in the West African country’s capital Abuja saw stakeholders review the agency’s strategy on Blockchain and its formula for drawing an adoption framework for the country. A draft of the NITDA strategy was first released in October, which stated that the technology would help “facilitate the development of the Nigerian digital economy.”
Director general Inuwa sees the Blockchain as a potential powerful income earner for Nigeria by the end of this decade.
“We want Nigeria to be strategically placed to capture value from this economic potential of blockchain. Looking at our youthful population, which is mainly digitally native and with our position in Africa, we are looking at how we can get at least around six to 10 billion dollars by the year 2030. Blockchain is going to play a key role in terms of creating, tracing products and services.”
Inuwa cited a PricewaterhouseCoopers article that highlighted Blockchain technology as a potential major income earner through its many use cases. The mention of a potential $1.76 trillion boost to the global GDP thanks to Blockchain really caught the eye of the NITDA officials. Inuwa stated that Nigeria could incorporate the technology through its provincial services, digital identity, customer engagement, payment services, as well as contract and dispute resolution applications.
“We see the need for us to position our country well so we can capture value from the blockchain.”
Nigeria has been one of the few countries spearheading the adoption of Blockchain on the African continent. A may report from Arcane Research detailed that the country had the second-highest percentage of crypto ownership on the African continent continent standing at 11%. Back in September, the nation’s Securities and Exchange Commission officially defined digital assets under its regulatory umbrella. Though the country has been in the news for social unrest due to police brutality claims, Nigeria remains an economic powerhouse in the region that can help make the case for blockhain over the next decade.
Image Courtesy of Pexels
