The Tokyo-based firm Infoteria Corporation and the Osaka-based company Tech Bureau Corporation has announced the two businesses successfully demonstrated the first blockchain microfinance service in Myanmar. The operation was verified using the blockchain Mijin on Microsoft Azure using ASTERIA WARP.

Two companies from Japan have applied distributed ledger technology to record microfinance data using the Mijin platform. Infoteria Founder and CEO, Yoichiro Hirano, and Tech Bureau President, Takao Asayama are pleased to tell the world about the group’s blockchain accomplishment in the world of microfinance. The two teams successfully transferred a loan and deposit account data located on the main system of BC Finance the largest microfinance institution in Myanmar. Mr. Akira Sakakibara, Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft Japan said he welcomes the successful demonstration using Microsoft Azure, Mijin, and ASTERIA WARP. Sakakibara stated in the announcement:

“Microsoft Japan welcomes the successful demonstration experiment of private Blockchain in microfinance. Microsoft’s cloud service product, Microsoft Azure, provides a reliable computing environment that requires high-level security, high performance, and one of world’s largest data center networks. In this experiment, Infoteria and Tech Bureau succeeded in recording the account data of microfinance transactions carried out by BC Finance in mijin running on Microsoft Azure through Infoteria’s ASTERIA WARP. This means further expansion of the scope of application of the Blockchain technology and also the delivery of the value of Microsoft Azure as a platform of Blockchain operations to a larger number of customers. Microsoft will continue to provide products and services that contribute to increasing the value of our customers’ business through the promotion of Blockchain technology.”

The group recorded all transaction histories of active holdings at the branch of BC Finance which operates a total of 19 branches. BC Finance assigned a total of three accounts which included a loan, and two savings accounts. The team plans to continue researching and developing this project for six more weeks in July. The firms say, “We will consider developing an application that enables data writing and viewing from the clients (terminal at each branch) to Mijin.”

The technology produced hopefully helps Myanmar get the resources it needs to help its underbanked population. The Japanese tech-firms explain, “Microfinance provides financial services such as loans and deposits to the broader population, and as such plays an important role in supporting Myanmar’s economic growth. Myanmar has achieved 7-8 percent economic growth since its democratization in the spring of 2011, and in the spring of 2016, the military government came to an end, encouraging the lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the U.S.” With blockchain technology the companies hope to curb costs of data management by a thousand fold and provide a more secure and immutable record atmosphere. Takao Asayama, President of Tech Bureau explains:

“From manual transaction management using Excel to compilation as a database, and direct correction of entry errors in the data. Such operations are performed on a daily basis as ordinary tasks in financial service businesses around the world. Conventionally, transfers from this stage to the main system was extremely costly; however, this experiment showed that by using only the basic functions of mijin, a stable, low-cost financial system with a clear locus of responsibility could be built based on a Blockchain. We feel that we have made a new step forward in Blockchain technology by having completed without difficulty the mission of managing multiple accounts per user without compromising the user experience.”

Infoteria and Tech Bureau believe this work will broaden the reach of the microfinance business world. The two company’s alliance they say will not only penetrate Japan but also internationally. The Japanese-based tech firms “plan to develop this alliance on a global scale by applying the result of this experiment to other countries.”

Source: Tech Bureau Press Release

Images courtesy of Tech Bureau & Mijin