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Blockchain Can Fix Supply Chain Failures Exposed by COVID-19 – WEF
Blockchain technology has the ability to tackle supply chain failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and boost economic recovery.
This is according to the World Economic Forum, which launched the Redesigning Trust: Blockchain Deployment Toolkit, which enables leaders to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks of the technology and help organisations improve future pandemic preparedness and accelerate an economic rebound post-COVID-19.
WEF notes the pressure created by the COVID-19 outbreak on global trade systems highlights an urgent need for global cooperation to maintain and strengthen the resilience of international supply chains.
It explains that over the past four decades, much of manufacturing production world-wide has been organised in what has become known as global value chains (GVCs).
Raw materials and intermediate goods are shipped around the globe multiple times and then assembled in yet another location, says WEF, noting the final output is re-exported to final consumers located in both developed and developing markets.
For many goods, China is at the heart of such GVCs – for example, as a primary producer of high-value products and components, as a large customer of global commodities and industrial products, and as a major consumer marketplace.
China, where the pandemic can be traced back from, is also producing many intermediate inputs and is responsible for processing and assembly operations.
WEF says Foxconn, an electronics contract manufacturer, is a well-known example. Its assembly plants, located in mainland China, produce for many world-leading electronics companies, among them Apple, Intel and Sony.
It says China’s position at the heart of many GVCs is illustrated by the fact that the production decline is also associated with major contractions in international trade flows.
“COVID-19 has shown the vulnerabilities of our supply chains and the opportunity for technologies such as blockchain to boost efficiencies and strengthen trust across a range of stakeholders,” says WEF.
“However, as organisations pivot quickly to put these new technologies into place, the crisis has highlighted the need for both speed and clarity in implementations.”
WEF spent more than a year working with more than 100 organisations and 50 countries across six continents. It also dug deep into 40 blockchain use cases ranging from provenance and traceability, to automation and streamlined operations.
The toolkit’s 14 different modules represent key success and risk factors for the deployment of a blockchain solution within the supply chain context.
According to WEF, organisations can use the toolkit to support more responsible blockchain deployments, de-risk early adoption, and ensure careful consideration of unintended consequences.
It points out that resilience in supply chains depends on trust, transparency and integrity, which can be improved through the responsible deployment of blockchain technologies that offer a “shared truth”.
“The current pandemic underscores the need for businesses and governments to improve the integrity and provenance of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies, as well as food, goods, and industrial and consumer products.
“The first of its kind toolkit is the culmination of more than a year of efforts to capture best practices from blockchain deployment across industries,” says WEF.
“The blockchain deployment toolkit is essential for designing solutions that work for a multitude of actors, including smaller players who may not have access to the resources required to unlock the value of blockchain technology,” says Nadia Hewett, blockchain and digital currency project lead for WEF in the US.
“For this reason, the toolkit can level the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises. There are many lessons to learn from the current pandemic and this toolkit is a starting point for improving long-term pandemic preparedness and accelerating an economic recovery led by public-private cooperation.”
The toolkit has been piloted in a variety of different contexts by organisations developing blockchain solutions within their supply chains, including the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, Hitachi, Saudi Aramco, as well as a number of SMEs.
Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has expressed displeasure over the level of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) losses by Nigerian researchers due to insufficient knowledge of the benefits of IPR protection.
Speaking at a one-day Coordinator’s Forum organized by the Office in Uyo for the South-South geopolitical zone of the country, the Director General, represented by Mrs. Caroline Anie-Osuagwu, director of Technology Acquisition and Research Coordination (TARC) department, said that prior to the establishment of the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in Nigerian knowledge establishments, Nigerian researchers had no deep knowledge of the importance of IP protection, hence losing their IP rights.
In a statement signed by Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu for the head, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP, the DG advised researchers to always file for a patent each time they anticipate a breakthrough and avoid publishing before patenting, as any research work published in a paper is already in the public domain and can no longer be patented.
“IP rights are rights granted to a researcher or inventor by the government to have a monopoly over the financial exploitation of their inventions for a period of time to recoup the expenditure on their research undertaking”. the DG said.
She challenged patent owners to license or commercialize their inventions, adding that patents that cannot metamorphose into tangible products and services are not worth keeping, as they are liabilities to the owners.
The DG said that researchers with patented inventions can license their invention for royalty purposes or sell them outrightly to venture capitalists if they cannot commercialize.
“Over the years, the nation has depended on the consumption of products from foreign research, while Nigeria is blessed with skilled human resources but only needs to be strategic in their research understanding”.
“The aim of organizing the IPTTO coordinator’s forum was to interact with the coordinators, know their challenges and achievements, and encourage the centers that are not very progressive to strengthen their centers.” She added.
The DG stressed that while a number of centers are performing well, some are struggling to find their fit, occasioned by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
She expressed confidence in the ability of the research communities engaging in demand-driven and market-driven research to fast-track development adding that technology development is a product of research work, and knowledge institutions are duty-bound to engage in critical research to advance the IPR ecosystem in Nigeria.
Participants from the South-South Zone took turns to commend NOTAP for the impactful program and requested the Office to assist them with links to venture capitalists for the commercialization of their research results.
All the IPTTO coordinators presented their scorecards and were advised to get ready for the 2026 IPTTO ranking that would be organized by the Office.
A Nigerian tech enthusiast known online as the “tech queen,” Sapphire Egemasi, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with a massive fraud scheme targeting U.S. government agencies.
Egemasi, a programmer with an active Devpost profile, was apprehended around April 10, 2025, in the Bronx, New York, reports The Nation.
She was arrested alongside several alleged co-conspirators, including Ghanaian national Samuel Kwadwo Osei, believed to be the ringleader of the syndicate.
The arrests follow a federal grand jury indictment filed in 2024, which charged the group with multiple counts of internet fraud and money laundering. The crimes allegedly took place between September 2021 and February 2023.
According to prosecutors, the syndicate defrauded the city of Kentucky of millions of dollars by creating spoof websites that mimicked official U.S. government portals. These fraudulent platforms were used to harvest login credentials and redirect funds into accounts under the group’s control.
Investigators say Egemasi served as the technical lead of the operation. She allegedly designed the fake websites and managed the coordination of wire transfers.
Records show that in August 2022 alone, the group rerouted $965,000 into a PNC Bank account and funneled another $330,000 into a Bank of America account.
Before her arrest, Egemasi was reportedly based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, though authorities believe she previously lived in Ghana, where she may have forged ties with other members of the syndicate.
To mask the origin of her wealth, Egemasi claimed on social media and professional platforms to have held internships with multinational corporations such as British Petroleum, H&M, and Zara.
Her LinkedIn profile portrayed a polished image of a successful tech professional, while her social media accounts featured images of lavish vacations to destinations like Greece and Portugal —trips prosecutors allege were funded by illicit gains.
Egemasi and her co-defendants are currently in federal custody, awaiting trial in Lexington, Kentucky. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison, hefty financial penalties, and likely deportation upon completing their sentences.
A former Executive Director at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Abbas Muhammed Jega, has shed light on the financial dealings between Arik Air and Union Bank, revealing that the airline’s debt to AMCON was over N100 billion as of 2015 and remained unpaid.
Testifying as the third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Ahmed Kuru, former AMCON MD/CEO, and four others, Jega disclosed that AMCON acquired Arik’s loans from Union Bank and Keystone Bank, but not Zenith Bank, which was purchased after his exit.
According to Jega, AMCON discovered in a London meeting that Union Bank had sold them a guarantee rather than a loan, which was meant to cover foreign lenders in case Arik defaulted.
“We invited Arik to resolve the issue with Union Bank, but the arrangement disclosed by me never existed,” Jega said.
Jega attributed Arik’s inability to repay to over-trading, which led to their inability to service existing debts. He revealed that AMCON attempted to restructure Arik’s debt and even offered additional loan facilities to help the airline with working capital problems.
However, Arik failed to meet repayment obligations, prompting AMCON to propose two solutions: a debt equity swap and management control. Both options were rejected or delayed by Arik.
Under cross-examination, Jega confirmed that Kamilu Omokide and Captain Roy Ilegbodu played no role in the loan purchase or London meeting.
The matter has been adjourned to June 30, July 1, and July 2, 2025, for further cross-examination.
The case involves alleged financial misappropriation amounting to N76 billion and $31.5 million, with Ahmed Kuru, Kamilu Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank Ltd, and Super Bravo Ltd as defendants, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.
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