UN agency to upskill governments on crypto tech next year

The United Nations Development Programme is set to launch a “Government Blockchain Academy” to teach the public sector about crypto and other emerging tech.

The agency said on Monday that it would partner with the blockchain and artificial intelligence advocacy not-for-profit Exponential Science Foundation to launch the academy next year.

“The Academy will provide specialized education and implementation programs that harness blockchain, AI, and other emerging technologies to help governments drive transformative change,” the UNDP said.

The agency is tasked with helping countries create long-term economic growth to tackle poverty. Developing countries, including India, Pakistan and Vietnam, were among the top adopters of crypto technology this year, according to Chainalysis.

Academy to guide on financial services, digital ID

The UNDP said the academy would focus on education that would ultimately look to deploy blockchain-related technology to address “pressing development challenges.”

Irena Cerovic, a UNDP team leader for Europe and Central Asia, said the academy will aim to allow countries “to tackle complex development challenges in new ways and move from experimentation to implementation in ways that strengthen transparency, inclusion, and resilience.” 

Some of its areas of interest were to use the tech to create “trusted, verifiable digital credentials that enhance access to services” along with better access to financial services and digital payments.

It’d also educate on how blockchain could be used for tracing and accounting in the public procurement process and to make “tamper-resistant recordkeeping” to tackle corruption, along with using tokens and smart contracts for climate finance, such as tracking carbon credits.

UNDP plans blockchain academy launch next year

The UNDP did not give specific timelines, but said the academy would begin to launch in some countries starting in 2026, with the curriculum design starting this year.