As you may have noticed this month’s focus at Nairobi Garage has been all about Cryptocurrency and the Blockchain, and there is a good reason for this. Cryptocurrency is revolutionising the way we will be transacting value, investing our savings as well as raising capital in the future. Blockchain technology is a once-in-a-lifetime invention and one of the biggest breakthroughs in financial technology.
The possibilities of these two technologies are endless, and this year, entrepreneurs and startups are well positioned to become early adopters of these technologies.
It is not surprising that cryptocurrencies are becoming popular so quickly. It enables people to transact value without a centralised authority. This allows transactions between people to be faster, cheaper and much more efficient than the regular traditional payment methods. As a business, accepting cryptocurrency payments is fast becoming the smartest option to save on fees and allowing for faster settlement on any outstanding accounts. Soon, startups will no longer have to go through the long, excruciating process of setting up a business bank account to receive and make payments.
Cryptocurrency provides a unique opportunity for anyone in the world to invest in the world’s most exciting breakthrough technology, and for entrepreneurs and startups, it may be the opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime. Traditionally, venture capital funds and private angel investors have held the monopoly when it comes to investing in the world’s best technical talent. Because of the unique aspect of not having a centralised authority, retail investors, for the first time in history, have had investment access to high growth early-stage companies.
Blockchain technology offers a powerful infrastructure for any company who want to run their technology and to create new business models in a trusted way without a centralised authority, and it has already started to revolutionise the way in which startups are creating value. The Ethereum platform allows anyone to build blockchain applications quickly, easily and for free. This is a cost-effective way of building a decentralised application that you can scale to a global population.
While Facebook, WeChat and Whatsapp groups have already proved the benefits of building communities of decentralised blockchain investors, the blockchain community gives you instant access to some of the world’s best entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs are actively investing, advising and building upon the blockchain. The blockchain community offers a strong sense of purpose with all members being committed to a common goal of advancing blockchain technology to global adoption, allowing large investments in early-stage technology companies can be coordinated within minutes, which has not been possible before.
Over the last month, we have outlined all the amazing opportunities blockchain and cryptocurrency technology will benefit people all over the world. From providing a platform to raise capital quickly, efficiently and cheaply to transacting value at an amazing speed, as well as, building decentralised applications for a global audience. We at Nairobi Garage are excited to watch this technology and see how it will continue to benefit entrepreneurs and startups all over the world.
If you are wondering how to build an identity for a blockchain economy for you business , don’t forget to sign up for our Workshop with Ian Grigg on 21 February – Click here to RSVP