nChain’s Stephanie Tower on partnering with government to boost Philippines’ blockchain revolution

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Achieving mass blockchain adoption takes more than just an understanding of emerging technologies. On the sidelines of the Philippine Blockchain Week (PBW) 2023, Stephanie Tower shares why the partnership between the Philippine government, its agencies, and the role that nChain plays in helping Filipinos fully embrace blockchain.

In a CoinGeek Backstage interview, Tower said nChain, where she works as Business Development Lead, is always on the lookout to participate in events that support initiatives that will develop the blockchain ecosystem, such as the PBW, which the firm has sponsored since it was launched in 2022.

nChain is a global Web3 solutions provider with vast expertise in blockchain and a large intellectual property (IP) portfolio.

“We want to make sure that we share that support and guidance in the industry and towards the people, who are movers and shakers participating here as well,” Tower told CoinGeek Backstage reporter Claire Celdran.

The Philippines has been exposed to blockchain technology through digital currencies and the explosion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, in recent years, Tower noted that the country has seen a major shift and is now seeking actual blockchain solutions—use cases that would help innovate industries and address issues that have long plagued the country.

“We are in the critical stage because this is where it begins, and this is where it’s got to go,” she remarked.

Leveraging its blockchain expertise, nChain acts as an advisory support to the Philippine government, from educating authorities on what blockchain is and what it can do to conducting training and directing them toward properly implementing the technology in government operations and real-life scenarios.

nChain also supports state-backed agencies, including the Philippine central bank, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“These are the decision makers; they are the movers, and this is where the core lies with nChain—we want to be able to work with them in a consistent basis to open that dialogue, to provide support, to provide them guidance on what and how blockchain can really empower and make things better for them and how they do things, and consequently, make better for the Filipino citizens,” Tower noted.

In line with supporting the national government’s digitalization plans, nChain also strengthened its collaboration with organizations and the academe, partnering with the Ateneo De Manila University, one of the top universities in the Philippines, in launching an elective course on blockchain technology.

While already an expert in the space, Tower said nChain is also learning from its partnerships with the government and its agencies.

“As we work directly with them, we learned a lot of challenges that the government is facing—something that you do not actually realize as a citizen,” Tower said, adding that by learning them, nChain gets a proper analysis of what blockchain solutions the Philippines should go after.

“It is very important for government to know that we need to build. As a nation, we need to build the foundational piece or the digital plumbing for the country,” she added.

While developing the right infrastructures has yet to take place, Tower said this should not be seen as a setback for the Philippines but rather an opportunity to showcase what blockchain can do, enabling the country to leapfrog other nations in terms of innovation.

“This is one of the things nChain really push for—create and help the government build that digital plumbing; create and provide that digital identity solution where any other use case and utility can be linked to, integrated with.”

“We believe that by doing that—starting with digital identity—blockchain-based self-sovereign identity…will open more doors for other use cases and other utilities that could really be of help to making sure that citizens are getting the right services,” Tower said.

Apart from Filipino citizens, the cooperation in developing legacy infrastructure will also benefit local enterprises as doing so would create newer business models that can be used to grow their businesses further. nChain is also working with Bataan’s provincial government to make the region the country’s center of innovation.

Watch: Bataan gov’t & nChain are aiming to bring the Philippines to its golden digital age