Q&A: Genevieve Leveille, Principal Founder & CEO, AgriLedger

Which use case perfectly encapsulates the potential of the blockchain?

I’ve always seen the supply chain as a very good opportunity to then help extend the other use cases. Obviously, everyone is aware of the largest and the most successful use case which has been Bitcoin. But the fundamental problem with Bitcoin is that it is not all-inclusive, even though we believe that everyone can actually participate — it also does not have the right UI or UX.

What we do find is that in the supply chain they are defined processes and usually a pretty good understanding of what the user experience should be about, or not about. And we can work easily, much more easily, in getting people to accept that.

Now, what that also does is allow for better financial outcomes. Because you’re not spending time checking and double checking what has happened, which means you have less waste and faster, and what we would call straight through processing.

What is one blockchain myth that frustrates you?

What frustrates me is this idea of all blockchains being the same. The use case will drive what data should be captured. However, a lot of the solutions do not actually let you know that actually, the data is not being completely captured on the blockchain. Rather some portion, such as the hash, is the data that is captured, which means that the other data is not available to give you a true picture of what has happened.

Also, people don’t understand that you actually need to have some sort of user experience or some GUI in front of the blockchain or you don’t really have access to the database, so it’s very technical. And it belies the usability or accessibility for many. That is why it’s important for people to start the process by looking at their processes, understanding what needs to be captured, what does not need to be captured and also more than anything else, what are the human interactions that will be part of this solution.

What is the biggest challenge facing blockchain supply chain applications?

The supply chain demands the interaction of many parties and the of design an environment or system whereby the participants are engaged or feel that there is a benefit to them. That can be difficult to achieve.

It demands having not only the private sector, but also government at the table, and it really needs to be a collaboration of the kind where fear of losing control is not there. Some of the issue has to do with people not understanding that not all data needs to be there and the transparency does not mean that all of the data is reasonable. It just means that all data is there when it’s needed and those with the right key can have access to it.

We are still in the beginning of this journey and it’s going to be a long journey of discovery. It’s great to see so much R&D research and development going on the field, but also the concern is that they’ve been many who have jumped onto the bandwagon and do not really understand the technology, and have actually more than anything else, honed on the part that allows you to make fast money.

A lot of people sometimes wonder if blockchain is nothing else but snake oil medicine, where in the Old West, you had all these guys travelling all the time, and swindling people. That didn’t mean that some of them did not end up being very successful. The Coca Cola flavour or formula came out of one of those events. But that’s one of my biggest fears about the blockchain and I think the challenge is to gain back the trust, of not only the industry, but those who would benefit from the applications.