Western countries have long dominated the tech scene—always at the forefront of major developments globally and seen as pioneers of the latest inventions and solutions, while emerging economies are often diminished as no more than followers of these trends.
But what if emerging countries like the Philippines are the sleeping giants just waiting to be awakened?
Global blockchain tech firm nChain is among the first to see the Philippines’ potential to become a leader in the blockchain space. This potential, however, requires nurturing before being unleashed and garnering the attention of other players in the industry.
This was what nChain attempted to do when it decided to take the leap and partner with the provincial government of Bataan. Located in the southwestern part of the Central Luzon region, Bataan is shaping up to be the primary driver of blockchain technology in the Philippines.
In May, nChain organized a workshop in Zug, Switzerland, for the delegates of Bataan to help the Philippines discover its hidden potential. Being in the industry for over five years, nChain believes that one of the keys to success in the blockchain space is having a deep understanding of the technology.
“What we want to achieve here is to make them really understand what blockchain is, how can they leverage the technology for their province, how they can automate and make their processes more efficient, how can they lower costs in some of their spendings and expenditures, and essentially…just helping them realize how blockchain technology can change their lives,” said nChain Business Development Lead in the Philippines Stephanie Tower.
While there are several technologies in the market that the Philippines can use to its advantage, nChain Chairman Stefan Matthews believes blockchain is one of the primary tools that would help the country take the lead in technological advancements.
Matthews said nChain’s recent engagements with Bataan align with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s ambition to spur the Philippines’ digital transformation.
“That’s the first thing,” Matthews said of the collaboration with the province. “The second thing is our investment in the Philippines, particularly with the incubator program that we’re rolling out.”
nChain targets to roll out the incubator program in August.
Bataan will serve as a testbed for blockchain solutions, says nChain CEO Christen Ager-Hanssen, adding that doing so would help develop the Philippines as a state-of-the-art country.
nChain Chief Scientist Dr. Craig Wright, meanwhile, pointed out that the partnership would help support the aim of the original Bitcoin protocol while pushing for further innovation.
“My main key message is that we have a fast, scalable solution that will allow people to transact, trade, and build new, sort of, innovations for fractions of a cent per transaction,” Dr. Wright said. “At the same time, it provides an auditable trail that will reduce fraud.”
For Lead Product Designer at nChain Maria Eugenia Lopez, blockchain will not only help revolutionize services in the Philippines but will help the country build solutions to address future problems, all the while preventing past issues from recurring.
“Controlling the narrative and the regulations around that usage is really important,” she noted.
The delegates from Bataan who participated in the workshop had nothing but gratitude for nChain for seeing its potential, with Governor Jose Enrique Garcia III saying he is excited to put into use what they learned from the program.
“I believe that through the use of technology, with the help of nChain, and what we’ve learned in the past two days, there are some things that we will be able to do for them (citizens) in the near future,” he remarked.
Watch: nChain will digitalize government services in the Philippines
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