Smart Dubai, a government initiative bringing cutting-edge technology to the city-state of Dubai, and IBM Corp. today announced the launch of the Dubai Blockchain Platform, the first government-endorsed distributed ledger technology platform-as-a-service in the United Arab Emirates.

The blockchain system will be built locally in the UAE and use IBM’s enterprise-ready IBM Cloud environment to deliver its service. Once launched, it will become available for businesses to serve as a stepping stone for organizations in the UAE to rapidly build, test and launch blockchain-based products.

“The Dubai Blockchain Strategy set a clear path for the emirate to have the world’s first fully digitized government by 2021,” said Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of the Smart Dubai Office.

IBM is an official strategic partner for the Dubai Blockchain Strategy and has become part of Dubai’s push towards becoming a paperless government by 2021. Dubai has seen the launch of numerous blockchain applications in a number of government entities including for roads and transport, energy, healthcare and education.

“The Dubai Blockchain Platform we are launching today with IBM, who bring a wealth of insight and expertise in the advanced tech industries drives us forward in our mission and allows us to power all blockchain applications in the city from one united portal,” Aisha said.

The Dubai Pay Blockchain Settlement and Reconciliation System, officially launched on Sept. 23, will become the first project to migrate onto the Dubai Blockchain Platform.

With this service, payment settlements between government entities, banks and financial institutions will take mere minutes, down from approximately 45 days for the same task.

“Blockchain is steadily moving towards becoming a multi-billion market by 2019,” said Wesam Lootah, chief executive of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment. “We at Smart Dubai have successfully embedded the technology in numerous services, the latest of which was the advanced ‘Dubai Pay Blockchain Settlement and Reconciliation System,’ which eliminates friction from financial processes between government entities through automation and minimal human intervention.”

According to a 2017 report from Allied Market Research, the market for blockchain services is expected to reach $5.43 billion by 2023. That matches a trend line outlined by statistics aggregator Statista, which shows the blockchain market reached $339.5 million in 2017. At the current growth rate, it estimates that it will take until 2021 before the market exceeds $2.3 billion.

“With the launch of the Dubai Blockchain Platform today, we will be one step closer to implementing Blockchain-powered services and experiences into citizens’ day-to-day lives,” Lootah said.

Through the collaboration with IBM, Smart Dubai envisions all applicable government transactions will be processed using blockchain technology, with the aim to make Dubai a global benchmark for citywide blockchain use.

TheCUBE was recently in the Middle East at AWS Summit’s recent event in Bahrain.  John Furrier had a chance to sit down with Khalid Al Rumaihi, Bahrain Economic Development Board where he addresses their view on the blockchain and Fintech.

Photo: IBM