By
Godfrey Benjamin
January 22nd, 2024
IBM intends to use the Blockchain to improve the import and re-export process of goods in and out of Dubai.
IBM is announcing new collaboration with Dubai government agencies, Dubai Customs and Dubai Trade, and several enterprise partners to adopt Blockchain for a trade finance and logistics solution for the import and re-export process of goods in and out of Dubai.
The Blockchain solution is expected to be based on Hyperledger Fabric and IBM Cloud to enable shipment data transmit so that key stakeholders could be provided with real-time information about the state of goods and the status of the shipment.
“This trade finance and logistics Blockchain-based solution aims to replace paper-based contracts with smart contracts; leverages Watson IoT for device-reported data to update or validate smart contracts; and integrates all the key trade process stakeholders from the ordering stage, in which the importer obtains a letter of credit from their bank, through the intermediary stages of freight and shipping, and ending with customs and payment”, the announcement says.
Demonstrating the potential of its Blockchain solution on the example of fruit shipment, IBM explains that stakeholders involved in the process will receive timely updates as the fruits are exported from India to Dubai by sea, and then manufactured into juice in Dubai, and then exported as juice from Dubai to Spain by air.
The list of IBM’s partners includes du, a UAE-based telecommunications service provider that is conveying data from internet of things (IoT); Emirates NBD Bank, the letter of credit issuing bank; Banco Santander, the letter of credit responding bank; Aramex, the freight forwarder; and a leading Airline, as the airway carrier.
Ali Sajwani, group chief information officer at Emirates NBD Group, says: “The bank has always had a culture of innovation and several of the bank’s most successful products and features can be attributed to this forward-thinking mindset. We are excited to participate in the ecosystem on streamlining the trade finance process using the futuristic Blockchain technology, which has the potFential of transforming the way we conduct business between heterogeneous entities.”
In October 2016, Dubai unveiled its interest in Blockchain and announced the intention to see all of its documents on a Blockchain by the year 2020. Hamdan bin Mohammed, the hereditary Prince to the crown of Dubai, explained that the Dubai government is planning to execute the transactions on Blockchain as a part of a new initiative called the “Dubai Blockchain Strategy.” It is expected that people in Dubai “will only need to enter personal data or business credentials once” onto the Blockchain, before it becomes an immutable record. The details of the program are kept secret so far.
Thus, Dubai outspeaks its desire to become a Blockchain hub and embrace the technology. The Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation established the Global Blockchain Council with IBM as one of the members.
Blockchain solutions are developed by many banks, logistics companies and technology providers. IBM draws upon its cloud-based reach, analytics, IoT capabilities and the Hyperledger Blockchain fabric to create smart networks and hubs, connecting major trading ports like Dubai and Singapore.