DLT, AI task force chief calls for tokenized Kenyan economy

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Kenya may likely be moving towards tokenizing its economy to solve the alarming rate of corruption and unemployment in the country, following suggestions made by Bitange Ndemo, chairman of Kenya’s Distributed Ledgers and Artificial Intelligence task force, during a stakeholders meeting between the Information and Communication Technology Ministry (ICT) and private sector, The Star news outlet reported.

Kenya has taken a keen interest in blockchain technology and remains one of the African nations at the forefront of the technological revolution. The Distributed Ledgers and Artificial Intelligence task force was established by the government in March to understand the technology and find ways to integrate it to the public sector. It is made up of blockchain experts, Kenyan blockchain startups, researchers, legal practitioners, regulatory bodies, and other associated parties.

Ndemo is convinced that tokenizing the economy will turn the nation’s economy around. He said, “We must begin to tokenize the economy by giving incentives to young people to do things which they are paid through tokens that can be converted to fiat currency.” He believes that adopting crypto tokens can help increase employment in the country. Ndemo also outlined the importance of creating a digital currency that can be equivalent to fiat currency.

This is not the first time that the task force suggested the creation of a cryptocurrency. In July, the task force presented the idea of developing a central bank digital currency to the ICT. The project is yet to see the light of day, but Ndemo said that while they “are not very enthusiastic at the moment, of course it will come, but we first want people to understand use of tokens.”

Kenya is constantly seeking means to transform its economy with the blockchain technology, from land registries being placed on the blockchain to end land crisis to integrating blockchain into its voting system for a better election process.

In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek’s coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI.