Blockchain Africa Conference 2017

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Bitcoin Events will be hosting the Blockchain Africa Conference 2017 in Johannesburg on the 1st - 3rd March 2017.

Blockchain technology and digital currencies are changing the way we do business with each other: how we store and retrieve information, how we transact, and how we send and receive money across the world. 
 
The blockchain offers advancements and innovation in various technological fields. The open-source, decentralised and distributed nature of the blockchain creates new opportunities in Africa because the technology offers people, governments, companies and institutions an alternative to existing systems. Africa has a huge need for financial inclusion; therefore, governments, regulators and banks are looking at various supporting technologies to bring more financial services to the end user. The blockchain opens new avenues for traditional banking, mobile banking, payments and remittance services. More and more startups and established companies are now looking to disrupt this industry by undercutting or bypassing traditional operators and payment networks, while (need a better word) also offering businesses new ways of accepting payments.
 
Around the world, we have already seen innovation where title deeds, identity documents and marriage certificates are recorded and stored on blockchain systems. This evolution of smart contracts can also make businesses in Africa more efficient and make the legal system more equitable as they enable transactional efficiency. Any contract capable of automatically enforcing itself, without the need for a trusted intermediary, will save a massive amount of time and money, especially within the financial and securities sectors. 
 
The financial services industry is in a metamorphosis with companies racing to provide both new products and services, and  improve existing ones. The end result will be that the consumer will benefit greatly from these distributed ledger technologies. Many of the world’s largest banks are already experimenting with Ethereum, Bitcoin and Ripple through private and public blockchains as these offer secure, immutable, faster, cheaper alternatives to some of the traditional banking systems. 
 
The Blockchain Africa Conference brings together a diverse range of experts who will discuss all these opportunities, challenges and exciting possibilities in innovation and disruption that can be leveraged in Africa using this technology.