The most populous city in the Americas, Sao Paulo, has partnered with a blockchain firm Construtivo to use blockchain technology for public works management. The city, through the Municipal Secretariat of Urban Infrastructure and Works, has moved to implement the technology in an effort to increase transparency and accountability.
Better transparency to cure inefficiencies of the past
The developed came after heavy investment into the city construction projects failed to produce any meaningful results, with several bridges and roads forced to close down due to poor conditions. The implementation of distributed technology is believed to be a solution for adding transparency.
Marcus Granadeiro, president of Construtivo, said the new platform will give stakeholders access to relevant data.
“It is imperative that data from all construction work assets in the city of São Paulo or from ongoing projects be available online to any decision-maker. Process and document management takes place in real-time from anywhere.”
Granadeiro is of the view that using blockchain technology will help the city to identify sources of problems long after the projects have been completed since the technology allows data to be recorded on an immutable ledger.
Brazil issues birth certificates on the blockchain
The South American country is making major moves in the application of blockchain technology, which many believe to be the best thing to happen to the world since the invention of the internet.
In another milestone achievement for the country, the first birth certificates recorded on the blockchain were issued in Brazil. Álvaro de Medeiros Mendonça was one of the first babies to have their birth certificates registered on the distributed ledger technology without the need to make use of the registry services.
The parents of the children were reportedly invited by the hospital to participate in the blockchain project which was developed by Growth Tech working in partnership with International Business Machines (IBM), one of the biggest tech companies that have delved deeper into the blockchain world.
The father of the baby, Waldyr Mendonça Junior, appreciated the use of blockchain technology, saying the registration of the baby was quick and took less than five minutes.
Blockchain technology has been lauded as fast and convenient because it cuts down the number of processes and parties involved in recording and storing data.
Hugo Pierre, the founder of the Growth Tech said the company has been looking for a new way for companies to improve efficiency in the recording of birth certificates.
Carlos Rischioto, IBM’s blockchain leader in Latin America, said birth certificates are recorded on their blockchain platform in three stages. The first step, “Live Birth Statement,” is completed by the hospital.
The parents then create their digital identity on the blockchain platform and the information will be sent for finalization at the notary office.
Rischioto said the platform eliminates bureaucratic processes in the issuance of birth certificates and will make the whole process faster and transparent.
A technology of transparency and efficiency
Blockchain technology is finding more real-world use cases as government departments and private organizations look for new ways to improve efficiency and transparency while reducing costs and time required to record and store data.
The technology is also being used in the medical field for data management. A South Korean hospital entered into a partnership in April with two medical startups – Longenesis and Insilico Medicine to create a health-data managed solution based on blockchain technology.
A British medical startup recently partnered with the government of Uganda to create a blockchain platform to eliminate the inflow and use of counterfeit in the African country.