Welcome to my first Steemit post. Will you like to read a little bit more about me and learn about my views on the Blockchain?

I live in tiny island city-state call in South East Asia called Singapore. You might know Singapore as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. With over 7 million population packed into a tiny island area of approximately 277 square miles/719.9 kilometres square. That's about the size of San Francisco.

For those who are not familiar with my tiny city-state, Singapore like Israel has a mandatory military service. I served as a Commando for my National Service for approximately 2 years. My primary vocation in the military is a signaller. These 2 years were gruelling and filled with much blood, sweat and tears. If it weren't for the strong sense of camaraderie I shared with my buddies, I wouldn't have survived through my ORD (Operationally Ready Date). To date, I still consider passing out a member of the commando family and walking away with the Best Combat Unit Award one of my life's best milestones to date.

Below some pictures of me during my time at the military

As soon as I am done with my national service, I decided to pursue a degree in information technology. Back then, Singapore was a verge of transforming itself into a smart nation. I reckon, having a degree in information systems can't be that bad of an option. I managed to graduate with Merit from Singapore Management University with a Bachelor of Science (Information Systems) with major in Operations Management.

Here is a picture of me with my family on a graduation shoot

During my time in SMU, I took up an opportunity to participate in an overseas community service project in the Philippines. Working with Liter of Light, our team aims to provide solar-powered light made from recyclable materials.

Below are some pictures of my brief stint working with Liter of Light

In Phillippines, I witness first hand on the how poverty affects people’s lives. In those impoverished state, access to electricity is lacking and the majority of the people often do not have access to banking facilities. Being excluded from to formalized financial services have implications on both economic and social costs.

One such implication of having no access to formalized banking services means these groups of people turn to alternative financial services that charge very expensive fees. Often times, these unbanked groups of people are trapped in an endless cycle of poverty. To date, the number of unbanked cities and municipalities in the Phillippines stands at 571 out of 1634.

Financial inclusion is expensive

To build an inclusive economy in developing nations requires a combination of regulatory, technology and as well as logistics infrastructures. This will allow better participation rates towards an inclusive economy through easier access and better support. However, building the foundation for an inclusive economy requires a lot of resources.

To make matters worse, it is not easy to convince shareholders on the merits of an inclusive economy. This is especially so as the risks are often high and the returns are slow. In other instances, there is a lack of conviction to gather the resources towards funding for these infrastructures due to political reasons. This could be partly due to the fact that spending resources towards a more inclusive economy do not win votes in the short term. The benefits of investing in infrastructures will often take longer time to see any significant improvements in people's lives.

Enter Blockchain

Centralized companies like Uber, Airbnb, Facebook and Western Union has grown into monopolies and developed enclosed ecosystems based on their respective platforms. These enterprises will, in turn, take a middlemen fee and profit off customers’ data. As a result, the opening of economic opportunities to underdeveloped economies becomes a challenge.

By now I believe I am not entirely wrong to say that profit enterprise does not always serve the best interest of everyone, particularly those in developing countries. Through blockchain, it has ushered in a new system of value. It can allow access to hard to reach infrastructures such as banking facilities via this new age of digital economy. Most importantly, they will not be limited by a poor regulatory support.

Blockchain technology holds the key to building an inclusive global economy powered by the digital age that is auditable, secure and as well as transparent. One notable example is of course Bitcoin. It can replace catastrophic financial system failure due to potential poor political policy management like the financial crisis in 2008. They can potentially expand financial inclusions to previously unbanked groups which are currently standing at around 2 Billion

Bitcoin: First Proof of Concept Towards a More Inclusive Economy

In a way, though the use case of Bitcoin, it is also the fluid transfer of electronic money, making it cheaper and easier to send money at a low rate. Through the reduction of fees, accumulation of wealth will be the first of many steps towards financial inclusion.

The use case of blockchain ranges is aplenty and certainly not limited to remittance. From identity verification without a need for a centralized authority to streaming of video content without a need for the centralized database that is powered by you and me. You can even vote using blockchain in a way that is transparent, incorruptible and auditable.

The truth is blockchain technology is in its infancy and there is much work to be done before blockchain becomes commonplace. Without a doubt, I am excited to say that I look forward to witnessing a shift to a world where distributed autonomous institutions will play a new role in this new phase of the digital age.

I thank you for reading my first post and I will appreciate a lot if you could follow me on Steemit as I will be posting more content regarding my views on all cryptocurrencies events. I will also use this platform to post some reviews on upcoming ICOs.

If you like to find out more about the non-profit organization which I have the privilege to work with. You can check them out here via this link

If you like my post, I would very much appreciate an upvote too. Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank @jerrybanfield for inspiring me to write my first post. Your guide on Youtube and Steemit is very helpful!