The Gambia to develop blockchain-powered digital infrastructure

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Gambia, a tiny nation in West Africa, is set to launch a blockchain-powered digital platform to enhance and streamline public service delivery.

The country has partnered on the initiative with the Kalp Foundation, a non-profit organization based in northern India that promotes adopting blockchain technology in the public sector. Together, the two will launch Gambia One, a new app built on Kalp’s blockchain infrastructure to digitalize critical government services.

The Foundation’s founder, Tapan Sangal, stated that the partnership is geared toward helping The Gambia in “its journey towards becoming a future-ready nation powered by a robust blockchain-driven digital ecosystem.”

“Our partnership with The Gambia marks the beginning of a series of transformative engagements designed to empower nations with sustainable and inclusive digital public infrastructure.”

The Gambia is a small nation with a population below three million and a $2.4 billion gross domestic product (GDP), ranking it among the 20 smallest economies globally. Structural limitations, such as Internet and smartphone penetration, have limited digital asset adoption in the region.

However, with Gambia One, residents don’t have to be blockchain-proficient to enjoy the benefits. The normal public services they have been obtaining from the government will transition to blockchain in the background, making them faster, more secure, and more efficient while still remaining accessible. Gambians can also now own their data on the blockchain platform.

“Together, we will harness the power of blockchain-enabled DPI to deliver innovative, citizen-centric solutions that align with global standards of trust, transparency, and accountability. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to building a brighter, more inclusive future for our nation,” commented Lamin Jabbi, the Communications and Digital Economy Minister.

The Gambia will join its West African peer Nigeria, which leads the continent in blockchain adoption. Last year, Nigeria announced it was in the early stages of building Nigerium, a national blockchain network geared toward data sovereignty.

These initiatives highlight the struggle that public institutions face in deciding between decentralized public blockchain networks like BSV and private networks. While announcing Nigerium, the Nigerian government cited the Ethereum transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) as an instance in which millions of Nigerians who use the network were not consulted, which profoundly impacted their assets and data. In its initiative, The Gambia’s government will build its blockchain app on the Kalp Foundation’s private decentralized network.

It’s not just in Africa; the government of Estonia has been leveraging blockchain the longest, but it relies on a custom network it developed called the KSI Blockchain. Georgia’s blockchain land registry is conducted on Exonum, a private blockchain developed by Dutch DLT firm Bitfury.

However, public networks are still the only solution. Additionally, the BSV blockchain has solved many impediments previously cited against public blockchains. For instance, its Overlay networks offer privacy similar to a private network while leveraging the decentralized network for security.

East Africa taps blockchain to clean the environment

On the coasts of East Africa, blockchain is becoming central to efforts to clean up the environment, with locals incentivized with digital tokens for their participation in cleanup initiatives.

In coastal Kenya, local startup Aquapurge is leading efforts to clean up the Indian Ocean, which serves as the key source of livelihood for the region, from attracting tourists to fishing and port activities. Aquapurge rewards locals who participate in the cleanups with digital assets, which they can sell for cash or use to make payments at participating stores.

According to one report, the startup’s activities led to the collection of 5.4 tons of waste in late 2023.

In neighboring Tanzania, another startup is leading the cleanup of local rivers in Dar es Salaam, the largest city. Unlike its Kenyan counterpart, Chatafisha doesn’t rely on tokens; rather, it works with locals to collect plastic waste on the rivers, recycle it, and then pay them with the revenue generated. The startup uses blockchain to track the waste collection and recycling processes.

Watch: Is your company ready to ride the wave of blockchain adoption?