By George Aine
Blockchain technology is an integral part of how cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, work. However, many are concerned on how small business owners can be incorporated to benefit from this technology.
As a result, proponents of the technology are devising means of enrolling small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) onto it by creating an African Digital Asset Register that will be used to raise funds for nurturing small enterprises.
A digital asset register is a document or database where collections managers or those responsible for digital preservation systematically record all digital content. A digital asset register organises data (or metadata) about collections in a way more easily understood by others, particularly management and practitioners in other parts of the institution.
The system is being piloted in Kenya where the government is currently engaged in discussions with Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) on the growth enterprise market segment (GEMs).
The GEMs segment at the NSE can facilitate SMEs raise substantial initial and ongoing capital, while benefiting from increased profile and liquidity within a regulatory environment designed specifically to meet their needs.
The chairman of the team spearheading the innovation, Mr Bitange Ndemo, on Tuesday said they want to make blockchain technology more user friendly.
“We are going to form the African Digital Asset Register, and once in place, it will start to raise funds through Initial Coins Offer (ICOs),” Mr Ndemo is quoted as saying.
“We’ll recommend a coin, recommend a framework on funding SMEs, a legal framework, and a sandbox to experiment before it is released to the market,” he added.
