(Guest Post)
PO8, an award-winning Bahamian tech company, is leading the charge in ocean impact and asset management with blockchain solutions and says Africa could be next in their mission.
According to the company’s founders, CEO Matthew Arnett, and co-founder and COO, Raul Vasquez, ‘PO8 has found an innovative way to to recover underwater cultural heritage assets from the country’s many shipwrecks to drive sustained and inclusive economic growth to the region.”
In a statement, the founders said:
“Using blockchain technology and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), PO8 can begin to monetize and reshape the ownership of $100B dollars in sunken treasures and artifacts, converting ownership rights of recovered artifacts with economic value into a digital title, while keeping recovered items in the custody of the PO8 Museum Foundation to be preserved and exhibited. With a stored value derived from its underlying asset, NFTs can be sold to anyone around the world.”
Divers exploring an underwater shipwreckThe founders are looking to shift The Bahamas from tourism to the new tech pillar using blockchain, A.I. and fintech. They also believe African nations can also benefit from tokenizing newly discovered underwater artifacts.
PO8 is also looking to partner with local universities and technical institutions in order to educate and offer free classes to young people with a focus in blockchain technology like developing smart contracts and decentralized applications, ultimately leading to career opportunities with PO8 and its country partners.
Some of the reknowned members of the ‘archaeology and tech dream team’ working with PO8 include:
- Oceanographer and TITANIC expeditioner, Dr. David Gallo
- Shipwreck researcher and author, Mr. Claudio Bonifacio
- Troy Launay, part of the Apollo F-1 engines recovery team funded by Jeff Bezos of Amazon
- Evan Kovacs, an authority in underwater imaging who has produced videos for National Geographic and Discovery Channel.
For more information on how to get involved or to inquire about its current Security Token Offering, visit https://po8.io/
PO8 will be having African meetups in both Nigeria and Kenya. We shall keep you updated on this.
