From: IT News Africa
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Leishen Pillay, partner and Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications at Hogan Lovells South Africa, says blockchain could present new ways to help overcome challenges which continue to stymy the continent’s growth, like corruption and a lack of infrastructure. The potential application of blockchain and other disruptive technologies within the African context was one of the key topics discussed at the 2nd annual Hogan Lovells Africa Forum, recently held in Johannesburg. “Corruption and fraud are classic problems. Yet, people are still looking at them through the lens of how we have always tried to solve them in the past. We need to fully embrace the way technology can offer new solutions to these age-old problems,” says Pillay.
He says blockchain offers a new approach to combatting corruption because of its ability to create and store encrypted records which can be verified, but not altered or deleted. “The best way to explain how blockchain works is to think of the Lego blocks you may have played with as a child. Blockchain uses an algorithm to layer datasets on top of each other just like you use different layers of Lego blocks to build a wall. The higher you build a wall of Lego, the more difficult it becomes to remove any of the Lego blocks inside it – especially the ones lower down. In the same way, each layer of new data encrypted in a blockchain increases the integrity of the layers below it, so no single data set can be deleted or manipulated in any way.”
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