The second edition of the Blockchain Conference came to a successful end a couple of weeks ago, at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra.

Organised by Blockchain Network with support of Bank of Ghana and other stakeholders, the second edition of the conference themed, “Blockchain technology for Development”, brought together over 150 participants across various spheres in Ghana and beyond.

The Blockchain Conference was aimed at creating awareness and network with peers, create a good policy environment for Blockchain technology to flourish, knowing the policy issues, meeting stakeholders and share best practices, having first-hand demos on some of the tools and hearing from the experts.

Speaking during her opening address at the conference, Organizing Committee Chair, Ghana Blockchain Conference, Madam Nancy Dotse said, “The advent of Blockchain / Crypto Currencies has undoubtedly changed the paradigm of business transactions worldwide and Ghana is no exception as a number of Ghanaians are signing on to different Blockchain platforms”. She further highlighted the need for higher stakeholder dialogues on Blockchain /Crypto Currencies.

Renowned Computer Scientist and Blockchain Conference Convener, Prof Nii Quaynor, stated that Computer science creations continue to challenge our social and economic norms and we now have a chance to see how computer science can build trust through Blockchain.

He reiterated that mass adoption of Blockchain would influence many aspects of our lives hence it is worth the efforts to find best practices for our community.

Prof Quaynor further made it clear that Blockchain is much wider in scope than crypto currency and there is the need to openly discuss to find best use cases that make sense in our environment

The Executive Director, of the Ghana Domain Registry, Nana Kofi Asafo Adu also expressed concern about the slow pace of awareness about Blockchain technology and encouraged participants to actively contribute to this new technology, during his address.

Delivering his keynote address First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), Dr. Maxwell Opoku Afari assured participants of the BOG’s commitment towards digitizing the financial sector to propel the country’s development agenda.

“For this reason, we will continuously provide a regulatory environment that is supportive of innovation without undermining stability of the financial system. I urge you to be guided by responsible innovation in your deliberations on Blockchain and its application for the financial sector,”. Dr. Opoku Afari said.

Participants at the conference were taken through the topics like: Blockchain Technology for Development, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Real Estate, Financial Systems, Safety, Education, Policy & Development as well as other lightning presentation to demystify the Blockchain revolution.

Other speakers at the conference included: Associate Professor at Ashesi University, Prof Gordon Adomdza, Dr. Pindar Wong of VeriFI, Hong Kong, Mr Michael Van Der Puije, (BOG) Mr Isaac Impraim (BOG) Mr Kwadwo Ntim (GhIPSS), Sylvester Se-Edzi (Land LayBy) Mr Isaac Armah-Mensah (UCC) Mr. Bonnie Atitsogbui of AfriCoinX, Vitus Aborigo, of Stamp Africa, Mr. Ibrahim Toyeeb of Bit Pesa , as well as other seasoned experts with in-depth knowledge about the Blockchain technology.

The conference was preceded by a two days Blockchain Training Workshop with Resource persons from global as well as the local community.

The total Training Program covered a wide range of topics on Encryption technology & Hashing, Development on Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum Smart contracts, Blockchain as well as Policy dicussions.. Some experts have touted the Blockchain technology as an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.

Renowned radio and television presenter, Mr.Kafui Dey was the Master of ceremonies for the event.

Finally, the award-wining Journalist of the year - Mr.Benard Avle Moderated the session on “Blockhain & Development” at the conference.

Please visit https://ghanablockchainconference.org/ for full details of the Conference.