Top hackers, developers and curious minds from across the globe, as well as Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, converged in South Africa for ETHCapeTown in April 2019.
As Africa’s first ETHGlobal hackathon, 190 attendees had access to mentors, sponsors and software tools, and collaborated to develop their concepts into creative and actionable solutions through a decentralised, public infrastructure – the Ethereum blockchain.
Chris Becker, Investec’s blockchain specialist comments, “Investec sponsored this event because the Ethereum blockchain has many applications and enjoys far more developer interest than any other blockchain project out there. As an entrepreneurial organisation that believes in collaboration, we want to partner with, and stay close to, the individuals who are at the forefront of this innovative technology.”
15 per cent of the hackers were beginners and 42 per cent of them were new to Ethereum, so there was a strong emphasis on collaborative learning, while pushing the limits of this technology. The result of the hackathon was the submission of 33 innovative projects, built in a limited time.
Ensuring free and fair elections
With general elections in South Africa (or anywhere in the world), citizens have to trust that their votes are secret, counted and not tampered with.
A team presented a voting application that, through its cryptography, ensures transparency. When a vote is cast and recorded on the blockchain, it will be impossible to tamper with in any way. Nelson remarks, “It was exciting to see newcomers to Ethereum build an application that one day could ensure both trust and transparency during the voting process.”
Ambitious solutions for the real world
69 per cent of the hackers were from South Africa, so it is no surprise that half of the projects focused on solving the country and continent’s challenges. “It was incredible to see socially conscious individuals building solutions that can solve real-world problems,” Graham Nelson, Investec’s blockchain engineer says. “A number of the projects focused on promoting the social good, improving political systems and democracy, and building an open-access financial system that promotes financial inclusion.”
For the social and environmental good
Through its open ledger, blockchain technology provides a platform that enables industries such as non-profit organisations (NPO) to operate transparently and responsibly. During the hackathon, two notable solutions were presented.
Charity Transparency is a charity platform that enables donors to an NPO to track exactly where their contributions are spent.
Wild Cards is an action platform that allows users to purchase a digital representation of endangered species. Every time the digital representation is bought, a percentage of the transaction goes towards a conservation fund helping that endangered species, in this particular case the black rhino.
“Through applications like these, donors will know what their contribution is spent on to further a specific cause. It ensures accountability and transparency during the entire process,” adds Nelson.
Easy cross-border payments
More than one application developed at ETHCapeTown used the Ethereum blockchain to enable every day and cross-border payments. Using existing infrastructure such as SMS and USSD technology, the applications facilitate payments easily through a mobile phone or internet connection.
The most promising project was USSD For All. This project allowed anyone to send DAI (dollar stablecoin) to and from a cellphone number or use their tokens to take out a loan. “An exciting aspect of this project was how easily it could be built on top of a public ledger,” Nelson notes.
Practically, this means that billions of unbanked and underbanked people around the world would not need a traditional bank account or credit card to access online commerce and financial services.
Nelson concludes, “A decentralised future through Ethereum could mean that the world’s largest financial services platform is an open, shared database owned by all who use it. This decentralised finance model could signal a seismic shift in the financial services industry in the future.”
Source:itnewsafrica
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