Blockchain for more than just cryptocurrency

Blockchain is “an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way”. For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for inter-node communication and validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires consensus of the network majority. These are some of the attributes that makes blockchain perfect for trading cryptocurrencies, but while this is a major use case it is not the only one.

This was made clear by Ben Mann, IBM, COO East Africa, during his presentation at the CIO 100 event in Naivasha,Kenya. Mann described blockchain as a “tool for creating trust” said that it is being and blockchain is being used to create new networks and value in various sectors.

He gave various use cases of blockchain including:

Agriculture

In 30 years, the world’s population is estimated to grow ahead of what our food supply can support.

IBM Watson IoT analyzes a variety of data like temperature, soil pH and other agricultural and environmental factors to give farmers insights that can help them make better decisions — and harvest greater yields.

Automotive

The age of the intelligent vehicle is here with automakers seeking to create immersive, connected experiences for drivers.

Autonomous vehicles can combine Watson technologies such as natural spoken language with location and weather data collected by IoT sensors to help take passengers to requested destinations, provide recommendations for places to visit and answer questions about their surroundings.

Aviation

The aviation industry is working with IBM to put decades of maintenance insight at the fingertips of employees.

Using Watson technology to cross-analyze various data — including previous problems and successful solutions — maintenance personnel can help diagnose problems faster and with more confidence, creating smoother flights.

Education

IBM is making big investments to help support a 21st Century workforce in Africa. But building new kinds of careers do not always require a four-year college degree. Instead, they need rather sought-after IT skills in digital, cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, cloud, and much more.

The initiative, “IBM Digital – Nation Africa”, provides a cloud-based learning and enablement platform designed to provide free skills development programs for African youth, enabling digital competence and nurturing innovation in Africa.