The Foundation partnered with Trademark East Africa on the initiative, which aimed to modernize the continent’s supply chain’s inefficient and expensive paper-based procedures.
This technique was substituted by a more effective digital approach system on the basis of IOTA’s ledger data platform, the Tangle. The Foundation collaborated with the Nairobi, Kenya-headquartered business to develop an interconnectivity technological framework that allows East African companies to “interact in a clear, safe, and immediate manner, both between themselves and with global associates.”
Trademark East Africa (TMEA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting regional commercial development. According to their calculations, a single transaction in Africa necessitates the completion of 96 paper based documents on average.
The situation is far worse for exporters. They misplace papers because they have to distribute them physically, which contributes to inefficiencies, which are usually always pricey. Along with TMEA, the IOTA Foundation is working to alter this.
The Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP), which centered on the Kenyan flower business, was their initial effort. It’s among Kenya’s most important industries, and is also one of Africa’s largest. Kenya exports around 180,000 tonnes of flowers each year, or nearly seven million stems each day. Because this sort of product is very perishable, having an effective and robust distribution chain is important.
This is something that TLIP has already been giving to farmers and exporters. “In the trial, the IOTA Foundation and TMEA effectively documented the export process of Kenyan flower growers, developed enhanced user experiences, and worked with technical teams inside border agencies.”
Transferring the data to the IOTA Tangle was critical for a plethora of purposes, including a significant decrease in monetary expenses and the ability to conduct transactions quickly. The partakers in the trial were also reducing the chances of papers being misplaced or incorrect. TLIP pulled together a broad group of parties who were all engaged in the development of “coordinated operational infrastructure that improves paperless trade procedures.”
It involved not just the producers and logistical firms, but also the authorities, who were the only ones who could issue certificates for the items. Among the most significant collaborators were the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services.
The IOTA Foundation and TMEA intend to expand their trading routes following the success of TLIP. List includes tea exports to the United Kingdom, fish exports to Belgium, and textile exports to the United States.
The two companies are also collaborating with East African governments to deploy the platform with border authorities, giving people in the area new opportunities. Jens Munch Lund-Nielsen, the IOTA Foundation’s director of Global Trade and Supply Chains, said:
“With the permissionless distributed ledger, the technology we’re using, we’re extending confidence to all of these players at the critical moment when they’re exchanging data. Cross-border trade costs have a huge impact on the cost of products, which has an impact on jobs and consumer markets.”