Vodafone Launched Blockchain Technology Initiative in Ghana Universities

Vodafone Ghana in partnership with IBM, HackLab Foundation, and Stanbic Bank launched a blockchain technology innovation programme to empower students from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and other institutions.
  
The programme took place at HackLab Foundation’s Hackathon 2019, held in April at the KNUST. It attracted 600 developers from over 18 institutions through Ghana. Under a theme: “Can blockchain technology transform the services sector?” the participants were tasked to come up with feasible and scalable solutions for the Ghanaian and African market using blockchain technology. The Hackathon encouraged solutions to problems key sectors of Education, Agriculture, Energy, Tax, Financial Service, Healthcare, Transportation and Logistics Sector using blockchain technology.

According to Hacklab Foundation, the participants received awards in 10 categories. Some of the awards were on-spot internships and job recruitments, and investment opportunities to scale solutions that emerge from the hackathon challenge. Winning teams got the opportunity to participate in the Hacklab-GSBS Start-up School, a 6-week pre-incubation program to further develop their solutions.

“We hope to grow the number of blockchain developers and use cases for Africa through the hackathon as we’ve championed in the previous years with Financial Inclusion, E-Commerce, and IoT,”

said Awintiti AKUGR, Founder & President of Hacklab Foundation.

“We are always excited about the opportunity to unearth young talents in the digital technology sector. Blockchain technology is a very fascinating concept which has captured the attention of the world and this hackathon is a demonstration of our commitment to lead a digital revolution in Ghana.”

said Ms Angela MENSAH-POKU, the Enterprise Business Director of Vodafone Ghana.

According to Vodafone’s statement it has succeeded in executing a strategy of igniting a digital revolution in Ghana, leaving no one behind. The impact of this, it said, was felt in several platforms and initiatives including the yearly Hackathons, National Digital Coding, Instant Schools online portals and the youth skills and jobs portal. Vodafone Ghana has been awarded as a digital leader at the Ghana Business Awards in 2018.

News provided by Larry Mwansa, Bitnewstoday contributor in Africa. Larry is a journalist, IT enthusiast, follows and writes on blockchain and cryptocurrencies developments across the world.

Image courtesy of YFM Ghana