Singapore Media Regulator Launches ‘Blockchain Challenge’ To Promote Adoption, Innovation

Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has launched a “Blockchain Challenge,” in order to promote Blockchain innovation and adoption in businesses, according to a press release published yesterday, March 29.

The press release reads that the challenge aims to “promote awareness and adoption of the technology; and encourage companies to explore business model innovation and/or transformation arising from the technology.”

Participants can either submit Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) or Proofs-of-Concept (PoCs) to one of two categories: “Enterprise” for projects for “operational efficiency,” or “Transformation” for projects involving business model innovation and institutional change.

The first round of the challenge ends at noon on May 28, 2018, and then next-round participants will have six months to develop their projects with the chance to win either $50,000 in the Enterprise category, or $100,000 in the Transformation category.

As part of the Blockchain Challenge, the IMDA has partnered with tech investment and research firm SGInnovate in order to give access to “potential partners and [Challenge] participants” access to its Blockchain community networks. The press release mentions partnerships for Blockchain food supply chain tracking between Walmart and IBM with Unilever, Nestle and Dole as examples of positive Blockchain solutions.

The press release also notes that the IMDA is looking to work with businesses interested in Blockchain solutions — separate from the challenge — and encourages any interested parties to contact the company.

In October of last year, the IMDA partnership with three banks in Asia for a Blockchain trial to test a customer identification PoC system to improve the know-your-customer (KYC) process produced a successful KYC Blockchain prototype.

More recently, last week Singapore’s government confirmed its commitment during the Money 20/20 Asia conference for using Blockchain technology for international payments.