Ejad Labs’ Arzish Azam on CoinGeek Backstage: Pakistan must take advantage of blockchain technology
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Pakistan has become one of the fastest growing technology hubs in the world, taking advantage of its cheap Internet and high population. Arzish Azam believes that the South Asian country must also take the lead in blockchain adoption. Speaking to CoinGeek Backstage, the Ejad Labs CEO shared Pakistan’s ambitions for global dominance with its national Blockchain strategy.
Azam revealed that the strategy was conceptualized after a Bitcoin SV (BSV) delegation met with the country’s president earlier this year. The delegation, led by BSV attorney Jimmy Nguyen and InvoiceMate’s Muhammad Anjum, educated President Arif Alvi and his leadership on blockchain and how it can transform the country. By the end of the meeting, Dr. Alvi was convinced that Pakistan needs to invest in and explore blockchain.
Thus, the national blockchain strategy was born.
“It’s still a work in progress, but we feel there is so much potential in the country.”
With a population of 230 million people, Pakistan is the world’s fifth most populous country. Azam believes this is the country’s greatest strength as it has one of the largest global domestic markets. In addition, the country’s technology ecosystem is quite advanced, with many multinational firms, including those in the US, UK and China relying on Pakistani developers to build their products.
Azam, whose startup incubates and supports local entrepreneurs and innovators, acknowledged that blockchain’s association with ‘crypto’ has limited adoption and regulations. One of his biggest tasks has been to educate regulators and government officials about the usefulness of blockchain as a technology, away from speculation.
Azam has been working with the government for many years now. Earlier this year, however, most of the officials he had worked with left their posts when the new government took office, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. While there were concerns that most of the milestones achieved under the previous regime would be undone, Azam told CoinGeek Backstage that the new government has been quite supportive.
“The new government has announced that it will not roll back any initiative that deals with IT. Even the new government understands that for the economic progress of the country, IT is the one sector everyone needs to support. IT, blockchain and startups are all pretty sorted when it comes to government support.”
See: BSV Global Blockchain Convention panel, Blockchain in the Middle East and South Asia
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