Blockchain to be breakthrough tech for Dubai and government
dubai— As part of the World Government Summit, ConsenSys — an American software consultancy —will release a paper that offers governments a clear roadmap to harness the power of blockchain technology and implement robust blockchain strategies.
The report — “Blockchain, Hyperconnectivity, and the City of the Future” — is the product of a collaboration between ConsenSys — a venture production studio and custom software consultancy building decentralised applications (DApps), enterprise solutions and developer tools, focused primarily on Ethereum — and Vinay Gupta, a technology strategist who was instrumental in the creation of the Dubai Blockchain Strategy and went on to found Hexayurt. Capital, a VC fund dedicated to building the Internet of Agreements™.
Along with a comprehensive analysis of the state of blockchain today, the paper explores how national and municipal governments can leverage the technology to accelerate smart cities and IoT initiatives, improve services like healthcare and transportation, and make strides toward financial inclusion.
In 2016, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, announced ambitious plans for Dubai to become “the first government in the world to execute all its transactions using blockchain technology by 2020”. With this commitment to leadership in blockchain, the government launched a number of initiatives that make Dubai fertile ground for breakthrough and transformative technologies, including the highly selective Dubai Future Accelerators programme.
The Accelerators elicited a staggering response, with over 2,000 companies from 73 countries competing for 35 places. Since then, the first batch of companies in the Accelerators have had an unprecedentedly high success rate of 64 per cent.
Blockchain Virtual GovHack was the largest virtual blockchain hackathon in history, with 1,011 participants of 41 nationalities working on 131 projects. It offered $140,000 in prizes for government technology pioneers with the best ideas for block chainenabled solutions to global challenges. “The Blockchain Virtual Gov Hack, which is part of the World GovTechioneers Race, has received a high uptake from across the globe, reflecting the great international interest in developing government work through utilising latest technologies to serve societies,” said Hessa Essa Buhumaid, Assistant Director General for Government Services and Pioneership at the UAE’s Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and The Future.
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