Excerpt from Coingeek
Small island nations are “naturally decentralized” and could leverage this to spur blockchain adopition. Participants in the Island Innovation’s Island Finance Forum this week, which included Faiā‘s George Siosi Samuels, agreed that close-knit communities and even a lack of established digital services could work to these nations’ advantage in a “digital transformation.”
One of the most important factors in achieving success in their various projects was local involvement, all participants agreed. While it was possible for island nations with small, dispersed populations to “leapfrog” others in their digital ledger infrastructure, their solutions must be based on close community consultation and by studying their specific needs. This way, introducing a radical new technology would avoid being seen as a new form of colonization, or trying to shoehorn unsuitable solutions into skeptical markets.
Samuels appeared at the Forum to talk about the Tuvalu National Digital Ledger project, which Faiā is helping to build along with nChain and Elas Digital. Also speaking were Sharmyn Powell, Chief Risk Officer at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Oxfam’s Blockchain Innovations and Cash Transfer Lead Sandra Uwantege Hart, and Bitt co-founder and CIO Simon Chantry.
Island Innovation is a social enterprise and digital media company at the intersection of sustainable development and communications, offering specialised services across various sectors. We bring together the private sector, government, utilities, NGOs and universities to advance innovation for sustainability and prosperity in islands worldwide.
