Coin Afriq

Today, we’d like to tell you about an exciting venture for Africa, blockchains, and web3.

Coin Afriq (Pty) LTD has available an enterprise-grade permissioned blockchain aimed at businesses, enterprises and organizations, enabling users to tokenize Real-World Assets, improve logistics, streamline operations, and reduce costs for organizations from private sector businesses (regardless) of size to government institutions.

In this document, we’d like to introduce you to the concepts we are using, how it applies to real-world examples and how it can benefit your business or organization by reducing overhead costs, administrative costs, and paperwork while improving operation speeds and automating common business and administrative tasks.

What is a Blockchain?

A blockchain is simply put a distributed public ledger on the internet.

It is distributed in that everyone with the permissions needed to access it has a digital copy that cannot be tampered with. It is public in the same that everyone with access can read non-confidential information (such as opening balances, closing balances, timestamps, etc.), and it is a ledger (much like a ledger in accounting – just a book or collection of financial accounts where transactions are recorded).

By being connected to the internet or an internal network, anyone with the relevant permissions can access it at anytime without needing specialized computing equipment or having a centralized server that could have downtime or crash.

Copies on the users’ servers or computers are referred to as nodes, with the blockchain creators having the original main node (called the Genesis Block) that gets updated as more people join and more transactions come in. The benefits are that the blockchain has no single point of failure or censorship, and can be easily audited, analyzed for network activity, and can be used to identify patterns or unusual activity (corruption, fraud, mismanagement, etc.).

What is the difference between a Permissioned and Permissionless Blockchain?

The normal blockchain used by cryptocurrencies (like BitCoin or Etherum) are Permissionless Blockchains. This means anyone can access it, and trade on it. It is open to anyone on the internet, and anyone can join the network without needing any specialized permissions, verification, etc.

A Permissioned Blockchain is essentially a private blockchain. Only people approved by the administration of the individual blockchain node can access it and make transactions,
The benefit of this technology means it’s much quicker than Permissionless Blockchains and more secure. Transactions (whether financial or for record-keeping purposes) are much quicker than both Permissionless Blockchains, traditional platforms and software, as well as traditional institutions.

What is a Blockchain-as-a-Service?

A Blockchain-as-a-Service is basically a cloud-based network where businesses and organizations can rent a blockchain to use for their operations. This can include infrastructure, management, administration, bookkeeping, and much more.

By utilizing Blockchain-as-a-Service, companies and organizations can use blockchain technology without needing to build or create their own blockchains, which can be enormously costly.

Some examples of successful Blockchain-as-a-Service (referred to as BaaS) offerings in the real-world are:

• Microsoft: Partnered with ConsenSys to introduce Ethereum BaaS on Microsoft Azure in 2015.
• Amazon: Introduced Amazon Managed Blockchain using open-source frameworks like Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric.
• R3: A consortium of global financial institutions that produced a distributed financial ledger called Corda
• PayStand: Specializes in sending and receiving payments between companies.
• Hyperledger Foundation: A non-profit that created Hyperledger, an open-source distributed ledger that can be customized for enterprise uses.
• IBM: Used Hyperledger Fabric to build the IBM Blockchain Platform, its BaaS.

An increasing number of consumers and businesses are willing to adopt blockchain technology for its high security, transparency, speed, and reduction of expenses.

The problem is there is huge technological complexities and operational overhead in creating, configuring and operating a blockchain and maintaining its infrastructure.
This is why many businesses and organizations are looking at BaaS, which allows users to set up all the necessary blockchain technology and infrastructure for a fee. Once signed up, the provider of the BaaS continues to handle the complex operations for the client while the client can continue day to day operations with little overhead or additional requirements.

Why should we use a Blockchain?

The benefits of blockchain technology are enormous to many companies wanting to not only reduce costs but also streamline operations and administration thus increasing efficiency.

Our blockchain, like many cutting-edge blockchains, employ Smart Contracts (a self-executing block of code or program based on use case) to automate transactions, administration, logistics, and more.

This means increased profit margins via reduced expenses taken from revenue, while also providing a secure and transparent way to account for transactions, finances, logistics and operations:

• Enhanced Efficiency: By automating processes with Smart Contracts, we drastically reduce administrative overhead, paperwork, and the need for intermediaries. This leads to faster, more cost-effective transactions.
• Increased Liquidity: Tokenization and fractionalization of assets (whether tangible like real estate or precious metals, or intangible – like equity, trademarks or copyrights) make them more accessible and easier to trade, unlocking new market opportunities and increasing liquidity.
• Transparency and Trust: Our blockchain provides a transparent and immutable record of asset ownership and transactions. Participants with the appropriate permissions can easily verify and trace an asset’s or transaction’s history.
• Global Accessibility: Our solution enables worldwide participation in various markets, allowing a broader range of investors, customers and clients to access and diversify their portfolios with both tangible and intangible assets.
• Decentralized Ownership: We facilitate fair distribution of asset ownership, reducing reliance on traditional middlemen and increasing market efficiency.
• Automated Governance: Decision are made through a voting process by stakeholders, eliminating the need for a central authority and fostering trust.
• Resilience: Power is distributed amongst all relevant stakeholders (subject to shares), making the organization resistance to single points of failure, censorship, or undue influence.
• Efficient Operations: Smart Contracts automate administrative costs, further reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

For organizations and businesses this means reduced burden on financial departments for accounting (by keeping a secure and transparent record of transactions), logistics (by ensuring deliveries are captured, paid, and processed) and shareholders (by automating payouts of dividends, voting processes, etc.).

A report in 2017 by PricewaterhouseCoopers highlighted from a Santander FinTech study that distributed ledger technology (i.e. blockchains) could reduce financial services infrastructure cost between US$15 Billion and US$20 Billion per annum by 2022, providing the possibility to decommission legacy systems and infrastructure, and significantly reduce IT costs.
https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/media-centre/articles/blockchain-new-tool-to-cut-costs.html

Why our Blockchain?

Our blockchain – GondwanaChain – is built with a focus on enterprise-grade security and compliance. Our blockchain and BaaS are efficient, performant, robust, scalable and extremely secure with the following features:

• Secure and Future-Proof: We used industry-proven architecture, highly reputable frameworks and hybrid Post-Quantum Cryptography to secure your data against both current threats, and future threats from next-generation technologies (such as Quantum Computers).
• Compliance Ready: With ISO20022 support, our platform seamlessly integrates with traditional financial systems (such as private and central banks).
• Versatile Tokenization: We can create both fungible (meaning multiple units) or non-fungible (meaning unique) tokens for fractional ownership, asset representation, digital representation of real-world assets, and unique digital signatures.
• Accessibility: Our solution does not require high-end equipment to access, anyone with internet access and an internet capable device (computer or smartphone) can access the network if they have the required permissions.
• Developer Friendly: Our blockchain is coded in Rust (a safe, fast and secure language) that is highly regarded by software developers, and our Smart Contracts use WebAssembly (a small portable binary file that can be developed in nearly any language and can be deployed anywhere from browsers to systems including Internet-of-Things).
• Fault Tolerant: Our network offers extreme fault tolerance of attacks, incorrect verifications, and common errors ensuring a robust and safe environment for transactions and administration.

What can our Blockchain be used for?

Our blockchain can be used for assets, operations, administration, and logistics in various fields and for businesses and organizations of any scale to streamline operations and reduce costs.

Examples of assets include:

• Tangible Assets (e.g. real estate, precious metals, art pieces and collectables, trading cards, machinery and inventory, automobiles).
• Intangible Assets (e.g. equity and derivatives, government bonds and money-market instruments, trademarks and patents, copyrights and goodwill).

Examples of key industries:

• Tourism: Decentralized bookings, secure and transparent transactions, tracing and authenticity from suppliers, secure data storage, verified bookings and ratings, secure and transparent rewards, personalization, automated processing, tokenized assets.
• Transportation: Real-time tracking of goods in the supply chain, route optimization, secure payments, smart contract automation, increased security and fraud prevention, intelligent transportation systems, vehicle lifecycle management, public transportation.
• Semiconductors: Supply chain transparency, anti-counterfeiting, streamlined processes, enhanced collaboration, quality control, regulatory compliance, intellectual property protection, secure data storage.
• Agriculture: Enhanced supply chain transparency, improved traceability, reduced costs and increased efficiency by eliminating intermediaries, combatting food fraud, sustainable and ethical sourcing, direct farmer-to-consumer sales, improved efficiency by automating payments and agreements through Smart Contracts.
• Healthcare: Secure and interoperable Electronic Health Records (EHRs), enhanced data privacy and security, pharmaceutical supply chain management, streamlined clinical trials, telemedicine and remote patient monitoring, data economics, reducing data fragmentation and security breaches, regulatory compliance.
• Charity and Mutual Aid: Increased transparency to track donation and distribution, reduced costs and increased efficiency, enhanced security, secure transfers, transparency in Disaster Relief, facilitating crowdfunding.
• Real Estate: Streamlined transactions such as for payments and title transfers, enhanced transparency and security for verifying ownership and resolving disputes, new opportunities and marketplaces via fractional ownership and increasing investor base, applications such as mortgages and property management.
• Energy: Decarbonization by way of incentivizing traceable, secure, and quick transactions via providing transparent and efficient mechanism for tracking carbon credits and energy provenance thus increasing production and consumption of renewable energy.
• Education: Secure credential verification from accredited institutions, data management and accessibility by distributing secure records of academic performance, enhanced learning experience by tracking student progress and creating global student profiles and providing tokenized incentives for learning and credentials, cost reduction by streamlining verification and data management thus lower administrative costs.
• Music and Art: Direct-to-fan engagement fostering deeper relationships and personalized experiences without record labels, tokenization and ownership can lead artists to tokenize their music, artwork and concert tickets, transparent royalty tracking, copyright protection,  reduced reliance on intermediaries by enabling verification of merchandise authenticity and tracking through the supply chain, decentralized streaming where artists retain more control of their music and receive a greater share of revenue.
• Insurance: Smart contracts can initiate payouts for insured items such as flight tickets when the cancellations or delays are reported from verified flight data sources, claims management can be processed via a blockchain ensuring only valid claims are paid thus reducing fraud.

Case Study: De Beers Group

The De Beers Group is a South African-British corporation specializing in the diamond industry including mining, exploration, retail, inscription and grading among others. At a stage in the early 1900s, the De Beers Group controlled 90% of the world’s diamond production. While their monopoly ended at the turn of the century after they lost a decade long legal battle with the United States of America, De Beers still account for roughly a third of the global supply.

The De Beers Group faced growing pressure to ensure ethical sourcing and transparency for its supply chain due to increasing consumer awareness regarding the origin of products, particularly in the luxury goods sector, the demand for verifiable, conflict-free and sustainable diamonds became a key issue.

To address this concern, De Beers developed a blockchain platform called Tracr, aimed at enhancing traceability, transparency, and accountability in its diamond supply chain.

The Tracr blockchain system used a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT or a Permissioned Blockchain) to track the journey of each diamond from the mine to the consumer. This provided a tamper-proof ledger that is verified and recorded while being immutable.

The empirical analysis showed that the impact of the De Beers Blockchain on their supply chain using the following Key Performance Indicators:

• Blockchain adoption and Diamond Registration: Within the first year of its launch, De Beers registered over 1 million diamonds on their Tracr blockchain, proving practicality and scalability, as well as handling complex tracking of high-value goods across a global supply chain.
• Cost Savings and Operational Efficiency: De Beers showed a 15% reduction in operational costs by way of eliminating redundant verification processes such as manual record-keeping and the use of intermediaries to authenticate diamond sourcing.
• Increased Sales and Consumer Willingness to Pay: The success of Tracr translated to increased sales for De Beers. Based on consumer surveys, customers were willing to pay more for diamonds that had been verified as ethically sourced. De Beers showed a 25% increase in sales from this.

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385269860_An_Analysis_of_the_Role_of_Blockchain_in_Enhancing_Transparency_and_Efficiency_in_Retail_Supply_Chains

How can we sign up?

We welcome any inquiries for businesses and organizations interested in our groundbreaking technology. We are one of the few companies offering Permissioned Blockchains, and one of a tiny handful based in and operating in the African continent.

We do would love to explain more in depth about what we offer and would love to discuss onboarding.

Please feel free to contact us at info@coinafriq.org or call on (+27) 0626404965 (available on WhatsApp as well as regular calls).