Portuguese Government launches blockchain competition

The Portuguese government’s GovTech Programme, which aims to find new technology solutions and business ideas for startups was launched this week.

 

There are three €30,000 prize money awards for the most innovative ideas that cover one of 17 challenges on the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Agenda.

Submissions of applications are now open to candidates on the website of the GovTech programme where voting will simultaneously serve to test the new blockchain technology.

Open until 8 June, at this phase the goal is to receive and validate candidate projects outlined in Agenda 2030, like, for example, eradicating hunger and poverty, sexual inequality or renewable energy.

The three winners, apart from getting €30,000 of investment, will also have the rare opportunity to develop their project on a world scale with the help of the Portuguese state.

Block chain is the distributed transaction processing engine that keeps track of Bit-coin and other crypto-currencies and can be used for other applications. It allows data to be stored in a variety of different places while tracking the relationship between different parties to that data.

The UN 2030 Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity which seeks to strengthen universal peace and wider freedoms by eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions.