Across the Middle East and North Africa, the public and private sectors are evaluating the value of Blockchain technologies, with spending on track to reach $307 million by 2021. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken the lead in the region in innovating and embracing blockchain technology, while Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and others are taking a fast follower approach.

In the Middle East and North Africa, countries have sought to develop competitive advantages in blockchain technologies as part of larger national strategies of becoming global leaders in technology. These ambitions have led to the proliferation of a range of innovation acceleration strategies, such as testbeds, sandboxes, and policy labs in some countries.

UAE’s Adoption in Blockchain

It’s exciting to see the country moving ahead on its blockchain mission. This year, three most important developments happened in this space.

• Blockchain in government services

The Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) has begun using blockchain for digital authentication of official certificates and some 2,920 types of documents. This means that citizens can now use a digital identity to apply for and e-sign documents completely remotely through a smartphone. The MOCD has halted the use of paper documents entirely.

• Blockchain in healthcare

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) is implementing a blockchain platform designed to store healthcare and pharmaceutical data. The platform allows users to inquire about the manufacturing of any medication, including the active substance, approved agent,and method of use.

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are produced worldwide at an estimated rate of $75 billion annually. The goal of this program is to help consumers buy safely, promoting transparency and confidence in local healthcare.

• In intelligent supply chains

This year the UAE played a role in creating a blockchain toolkit, which was designed to help supply chains recover from the coronavirus pandemic. By recording every movement of an asset end-to-end in real time, blockchain enables greater traceability, visibility and accountability. With insights from blockchain, organizations can also build their resilience and agility, as they are able to monitor inventory levels, avoid shortages and be more proactive overall.

The UAE Digital Transformation Report

The UAE Digital Transformation Report 2021-22, issued by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, demonstrates the UAE’s leading position in global competitiveness reports. The report describes how the UAE has achieved digital transformation and how these achievements have improved the quality of government services and customer happiness.

Major digital achievements

The digital transformation report 2021-22 focused on the major digital achievements which include:

1. Education

In the field of education, the UAE launched:

• Madrasa is an online education platform that teaches students in grades 1-12; it currently reaches 50 million students, who access the platform free of charge.

• Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University will offer the first degree in artificial intelligence at the national level, a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence.

2. Health

In the field of health, the UAE launched:

The E-Health Information System Wareed, a web-based software application, is an integrated electronic system for managing health information in all public hospitals and healthcare centers of the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

• Telemedicine services 

3. Economy

In the field of economy, the UAE launched:

• The national open data portal will provide datasets using artificial intelligence (AI), and will engage users via a chatbot named Bayan that uses natural language processing.

• The Dubai Data Science Lab, the first of its kind in the region, made 637 data sets available for Smart Dubai via the Dubai Pulse platform.

• Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 aims to transform 50 percent of federal government transactions into a blockchain platform by 2021 and save billions of dollars in reduced spending on paper documents.

4. Telecommunications

The UAE’s achievements in the field of telecommunications include.

• In 2008, he was elected head of the permanent Arab Management Group for Frequency Spectrum.

• Hosting the Plenipotentiary Conference 2018.

5. Capacity development

The UAE launched several initiatives to increase the number of its people skilled in digital technology, including:

• TDRA virtual academy
• Centre of digital innovation (CoDI)
• The TRA’s innovation camp
• EBTIC – Etisalat BT innovation center
• Betha scholarship programme

Providing scholarships in ICT and related fields.

6. Digital laws and policies

The UAE launched several initiatives to improve the quality of websites and encourage digital participation and usage of data, including:

• Web content guidelines for government websites
• Guidelines for digital participation and social media practices in government entities
• Guidelines for federal websites
• UAE smart data framework, with an aim to enhance digital readiness of data and accelerate digital transformation in the UAE.

7. Sustainable environment and integrated infrastructure

The UAE has achieved remarkable progress in the fields of sustainable environment and integrated infrastructure, including:

• The National Waste Database, launched by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to manage waste scientifically based on data analysis, is an initiative to transform Pakistan into a garbage-free nation.

• The National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031, which aims to make the UAE a world leader in quality of life by that year,

• The Advanced Skills Strategy (ASS) is a national framework for promoting life-long learning among citizens and residents of the United Kingdom.

Emirates Blockchain Strategy

The UAE government launched the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2022 to promote the use of blockchain technology in the country.

The UAE government expects to use blockchain technology to transfer 50 % of its governmental transactions to the blockchain platform by 2023, saving $3.1 billion annually.

• AED 11 billion in transactions and documents processed routinely

• 398 million printed documents annually

• 77 million work hours annually

This is just the beginning. With technology advancing every day, there are no bounds to how it could be used to make our lives easier and happier. The only responsibility we have is to be ready for a change like never before.

Conclusion

Blockchain was initially deployed by the public sector and state-owned entities, but it has a greater potential in private-sector use cases. However, many industries have only just begun to experiment with the technology.

There are several challenges to unlocking these opportunities, including regulations, skills, and international collaboration. The UAE government has taken the lead in addressing these issues. Continued progress will rely on cooperation on a common regional vision and a focus on the development of blockchain technology.

For more details regarding enterprise blockchain, connect with Gyan Consulting.