NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, December 17, 2018

We live in a world that is increasingly borderless, with the unprecedented growth of technology across a number of sectors. However, geographical and economic borders remain firmly entrenched in the global financial landscape, preventing those in emerging markets from accessing the playing field of capital growth.

None of the three countries with the highest GDP growth between 2008 and 2017 — Nauru, Ethiopia and Turkmenistan — have stock exchanges, depriving emerging investors and business owners of much-needed access to global capital. When investors do enter the traditional market, they face extremely high intermediary fees. Despite growth in tech hubs across emerging markets, economic exclusion and inequality remain huge barriers to those looking for a profitable investment opportunity. Blockchain technology, as a borderless force, might hold the very solution to this problem. By reshaping international investing to create a more decentralised, secure and accessible means of doing business, blockchain-based exchanges could help eradicate economic inequality and foster a new era of financial inclusion for developing countries.