B LOCKCHAIN HUB
Blockchain hub and sustainable investments Geneva is fast becoming a blockchain hub and pioneer in the field of public support for initial coin offerings (ICOs)
G eneva is an international centre of innovation in the field of blockchain. It has initiated various pilot projects – both in the public and private sectors – using distributed ledger technologies, which are being brought from laboratory to market through a new high-level gathering named Geneva Annual Blockchain Congress. Geneva is home of the Swiss Blockchain Association, aiming to federate national blockchain players, extend the blockchain community and position Geneva as a leader in this segment. Geneva also launched a Blockchain Lab program, an open platform that provides support, training and expertise to entrepreneurs developing blockchain applications, including projects that significantly modify existing business models. For example, 15 of the world’s major companies recently formed a new venture in Geneva known as Komgo, with the objective to digitalise the trade and commodities finance sector through a blockchain-based open platform. In parallel with blockchain, Geneva has drafted a guide to support and evaluate ICO (initial coin offering) projects interested in launching on its territory, regardless of their state of advancement. This world first aims to support ICO project leaders in their search for the best launch pad for their activities, while ensuring consistency within the administration and compliance with local legislation. Geneva’s initiative, which marks the development of a ‘Blockchain Valley’ in Western Switzerland, is also supported by a centre of expertise consisting of local
specialists in the legal, academic, technical, marketing, tax, banking, compliance and public sector fields. In addition to keeping information up-to-date, these experts are responsible for monitoring the ICOs, ie sorting out the projects and taking into account their operational aspects to facilitate the implementation process as much as possible.
Geneva thus provides entrepreneurs with clear procedures and the possibility of promoting their issuance of tokens, whether the latter is in progress or already completed. It also proposes to put stakeholders in contact, according to their needs, with relevant actors in the local ecosystem.
Geneva, the future Silicon Valley of the responsible economy
One third of sustainable investments worldwide are generated by the Swiss financial sector, a performance to which Geneva actively contributes. As the most active multilateral governance centre in the world and the global operational base for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the canton of Geneva is a key crossroads for green and social finance. Geneva's unique know-how in this field is still relatively unknown beyond diplomatic circles and some insiders. The State's authorities are working to raise awareness among the general public regarding this exceptional ecosystem, the engine of unprecedented synergies that is reflected in the International Network of Sustainable Financial Centres (FC4S), which in April 2018 chose Geneva as the host of its global headquarters. This new institution, the result of a public-private partnership at
the local, national and international level, perfectly complements Geneva's network of fintech start-ups and microfinance specialists, to which is added a unique density of more traditional actors, from the academic, banking and innovation worlds in the broad sense. The competitiveness of Geneva’s financial centre is based on innovation and openness to new models, particularly those based on cutting- edge technologies. This is precisely one of the projects carried out by the Sustainable Finance Geneva association, an entity supported by the city. In this case, the idea is to promote a dialogue between institutions willing to invest and companies that generate positive social and environmental impacts. Geneva, in part thanks to the political vision of its authorities, has the potential to become a ‘Silicon Valley’ of the responsible and inclusive economy.
VI geneva 2018
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