FG Urged to Adopt Blockchain Technology to Boost FDI

Emma Okonji

The Federal Government has been advised to adopt and invest in blockchain technology to further attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country.

The Chief Executive Officer of Kure Holdings, Mr. Tega Abikure, who gave the advice during the company’s recent investment forum in Lagos, said with effective industry collaboration and government support, the adoption of blockchain technology could become a major source of foreign direct investment for Nigeria.

Abikure noted that Nigerian government was slow in understanding and embracing the technology to drive economic development in the nation at a time other nations were already taking advantage of it.

He revealed that with global cryptocurrency market, having capitalisation in excess of $500 billion, the ecountry can take advantage of it and attract a lot of money for its citizens once the right expertise is developed locally to tap into it.

According to him, Blockchain represents the new economic revolution of the 21st century with a vast possibility of its application in several areas of the economy such as finance, medicine, agriculture, insurance, voting system etc.

He said government must stop foot-dragging and adopt a very robust approach at promoting Blockchain adoption and development in the country so that it would not fall behind others in the continent and the world at large. According to him, some African countries have begun to take steps to integrate the blockchain technology into their economy having realised its potentials for growth.
“South Africa has already started taking actions, same as Uganda,” he stated.

He regretted that the use of the technology in cryptocurrencies and the subsequent involvement of Nigerians with ponzi schemes had wrongly created the impression that Blockchain is a technology used for such questionable things.

He advised Nigerian wishing to make money from cryptocurrencies and other applications of Blockchain to invest in education as this is very central to benefitting from what it offers today.

Nigerians, he explained, had invested funds in excess of $5 million into the cryptocurrency market in recent years, but with little to show for it due to ignorance of how they work.

“The 21st century economy is one based on information and proper education. Blockchain and its applications would only bring ultimate benefits when people begin to study properly and then put this knowledge to effective use,” he said.

He revealed that his company’s project, KureCoin Hub, is the biggest Blockchain project in Africa and once fully developed, would shape the industry in Africa within a very short period of time. Abikure added that Kure Holdings Limited, the parent company of KureCoin Hub, had already succeeded in many areas of the economy and believed that it would also succeed in the Blockchain industry