BLOCKCHAIN AFRICA CONFERENCE 2025
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Blockchain Technology: Moving Africa Forward
Disruptive technologies such as blockchain technology can help to reduce costs while increasing efficiency and transparency across multiple industries. It has huge potential for making social and economic transactions more secure online by guarding against an attack and removing the need for any middleman.
Come and meet your peers to exchange ideas, best practices and discuss real investment opportunities, hear more about how African business is changing and developing from leading industry experts and engage with influential thought leaders in an environment that fosters interaction and networking. Join us for insightful keynote addresses, dynamic panel discussions and engaging roundtable conversations.
The Blockchain Africa Conference 2019 will bring together a diverse range of experts who will discuss how blockchain technology can be used to transform exiting processes and systems in order to lower costs, improve efficacies and reduce fraud in Africa.
If your business is in or with Africa and your target is growth, the Blockchain Africa Conference 2019 is a must attend.
Gary's talk will cover various Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) projects, both global and local, that have been implemented or are underway. Gary will describe each use-case, covering the purpose and broad range of technology stacks in use, and he will showcase live demos of a few of these implementations, including two that have been locally developed. Ultimately he will show that SSI is here and that it is achievable in practice using the highest of tech AND with almost no fancy tech at all.
Thavash will cover the convergence of three major trends: the emergence of permissioned blockchain networks as the killer app for trade finance digitisation, promising technological developments to combine blockchain and AI alongside collaborative pooled data for new market insights, and the inherent opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to help reduce the $120 billion finance gap faced by small and medium enterprises across the Continent.
The talk will take the format of an interview and cover the key concepts behind emerging decentralised economic incentive structures - aka "minimally extractive protocols" - using Clockwork.money as a case study.
Moderator: Gareth Cliff - Where are we with mass adoption in 2020? - Why is bitcoin the future of money? - Why is bitcoin unique?
Moderator: Siya Sangweni
The Master of Ceremonies will close off Day 1 of the conference.
The networking event will be hosted at the venue. All are welcome to attend.
Mr Damane will discuss the initiatives and roadmap of the Office of Digital Advantage (ODA), which is the portfolio management unit for the implementation of the Department of Science and Innovation's ICT Research, Development and Innovation Roadmap for 2013-2023. Since 2013 the government Department of Science and Innovation has invested in ICT Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) initiatives as part of the Cabinet-approved Roadmap. A number of initiatives have been explored which facilitated joint investment in human capital development at Masters and PhD levels, and collaboration on RDI with industry and international partners through programs such as the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR), Mobile Laboratory of Southern Africa, Data Science for Impact and Decision Enhancement (DSIDE) and South African National Blockchain Alliance (SANBA). Though partnerships government seeks to achieve scale and impact. Mr Damane's presentation will discuss various co-investment instruments and recent examples of how the initiatives have benefited government, industry and South African community at large.
Developing a Framework for the Implementation of a Multi-Sectoral Strategy as Part of President Cyril Ramaphosa's Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Mr. Dagada will be covering much of what the Presidential Commission is planning with regards to the digital currency and cryptocurrency space. He will also be delving into the insights, opportunities as well as partnerships with government for cryptocurrency and blockchain companies and start-ups. He will also be speaking about the new Capital Risk Fund which is aimed at Fourth Industrial Revolution projects.
Consumers today care more about the purpose and integrity of a brand than the products they deliver. To the modern consumer, the ability to obtain relevant context about the sustainable sourcing of ingredients in products they view in-store is becoming a critical requirement. The combination of blockchain with other exponential technologies (such as mixed reality, AI and analytics) create new possibilities for consumer industries to ensure they deliver with full transparency, offering the necessary assurance required by the modern consumer. In this session, we introduce global use cases that SAP is delivering within food, beverage and pharmaceuticals industries, as well as a brief glimpse of how blockchain is disrupting traditional business processes in the supply chain.
Rob will discuss how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies are currently taxed in South Africa. In the wake of the 2020 Budget Speech, he will also discuss the developments he had hoped to see in this regard, and his thoughts on the taxation of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies going forward.
Peter will share the journey that Adhara has been on over the last few years, participating in and building these new platforms. He will talk around some of the very real and very imminent opportunities that lie ahead of us.
What does this mean for South Africa? Is Libra likely to gain market adoption in South Africa? Will Libra be able to solve the long-standing agenda of greater financial inclusion in South Africa? What are the risks and opportunities for banks and FinTechs in South Africa?
As the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement enters its implementation phase, it critical for central banks to engage and provide modern payment infrastructure. Improving the physical infrastructure and regulatory frameworks are core requirement for this agreement to unlock the said potential. Additionally, new digital infrastructure is also required, specifically for the payment systems that will facilitate payments and financing of those trades. Moreover, MSMEs are poised to have access to new markets, and using the USD as settlement currency is not an option. Coming with alternative liquidity pooling schemes are sustainable for the region, is also another key benefit of Digital Currency-Based Payment Systems. We see the need for A Modern Central Bank Platform built on blockchain with digital currency technology. Coupled with Data Analytic and AI, such new payment platforms can support real-time final settlement, faster remittance to the unbanked MSMEs and trusted governance for the regulators.
Moderator: Monica Singer What are the concerns that regulators have with blockchain, digital assets and AI? How are countries currently regulating these technologies? How are regulators considering regulating them in the future? What are the potential risks of an unregulated market? What are the benefits of Central Bank digital currencies for regional payment systems? What are the opportunities blockchain, AI and digital assets offer to countries?
The Master of Ceremonies will close off the conference with a few final thoughts.
GOLD SPONSORS
RMB Holdings Limited, previously known as Rand Merchant Bank Holdings, is a South African diversified financial services holding company.
Luno makes it safe and easy to buy, store and learn about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in South Africa
The four main focus areas are:
- EMBRACING BLOCKCHAIN
Cut through the hype and see how blockchain technology can move Africa forward with its innovative opportunities to remove inefficient systems and processes within and across organisations. Learn about the technology’s benefits for the people of Africa, and about blockchain 3.0, the new generation blockchain technologies such as EOS and Cardano.
- USE CASES
Gain insight into current blockchain use cases by both financial and non-financial institutions: payments (e.g. remittances and cross-border payments), settlements, blockchain as a service and identity management, supply chain management, and record keeping (e.g. for title deeds). Hear from some of the most prominent start-ups on how they are using this technology to solve real problems. Learn how Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are taking the world by storm as a new mechanism for crowd funding that has emerged outside the traditional financial system.
- REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
Learn how blockchain technology can improve transparency, audit trails and transaction reporting to ease regulatory and compliance processes. Find the answers to questions such as: What are the concerns that regulators have? How are countries currently regulating cryptocurrencies and ICOs? How are regulators considering regulating cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in the future? What are the potential risks of an unregulated market?
- TECHNOLOGY HURDLES
What are the concerns around performance, scalability and blockchain infrastructure, and the implementation of blockchain systems?