(Opinion) Virtual currency: new frontier in booming digital economy
18/04/2013 00:00:00
by Natalie Paida Jabangwe
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Imagine a case where Zimbabwe might choose to abandon dollarisation (just as it did its own currency) for a sovereignly-virtual one, albeit decentralised and guaranteed by the country’s bountiful natural resources, just as real money today is backed by gold. If this virtual currency were to be accepted by world-wide merchants, or even locally to start with, it doesn't get more ‘Bitcoins’ than this. It doesn’t surprise me that the world is already speculating such a possibility.
Or consider a situation where specific merchants might start to issue their own trustworthy virtual currencies for the purchase of commodities at virtual or physical shops. The possibilities at our disposal through innovation are plenteous, unimaginable and are a springboard of hope, especially for economies on the mend. The challenge for business and government alike is to define where technology priority and business priority align to provide relevance for diverse consumer needs.
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There is no doubt that cash is now faced with many alternatives. Nonetheless, concerns such as security, usability and relevance must be matters at the tip of solutions channelled by service providers. Otherwise, technological evolution and all of its disruptive potential may fail to garner network effect beyond localised levels. Players that are sure to win are those that simplify, define their organic and inorganic boundaries, and lead in value creation by co-constructing the market through an open ecosystem to deliver globally competitive and problem solving solutions.
Natalie Paida Jabangwe holds an MBA from the Imperial College London's Business School. She recently developed NCR Corporation’s digital strategy and is an innovator of mobile wallet value proposition.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/opinion-10878-Virtual+currency+in+the+digital+economy/opinion.aspx
