UPS’ Strategic Enterprise Fund, “bitcoin could open up an array of new markets.”

Blockchain technology is attracting interest from a range of investment firms and individuals, and next in line is the shipping giant UPS’ Strategic Enterprise Fund (SEF), the private equity arm of UPS.

UPS was founded as a United States messenger company in 1907. The company has grown into a multi-billion-dollar corporation, focusing on the goal of enabling commerce around the globe. “Today, UPS is a global company with one of the most recognized and admired brands in the world. We have become the world’s largest package delivery company and a leading global provider of specialized transportation and logistics services. Every day, we manage the flow of goods, funds, and information in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide,” states the company.

Tracking packages and ensuring their safe transport is a part of the UPS success story. Looking to the future, the Managing Director of SEF, Rimas Kapeskas, recently discussed the borderlessness nature of bitcoin and its advantages, on the UPS blog Longitudes.

“Today’s technologies have enhanced the global exchange of information about goods and bolstered transportation networks moving items across borders. People around the globe have access to virtual marketplaces that feel borderless.”
— – Kapeskas

It appears from his comments that Kapeskas has been following the blockchain industry quite closely, referring to Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper and companies including Bitpesa.

Elizabeth Rossiello is chief executive of Bitcoin remittance service BitPesa, which allows workers overseas to send money home to Kenya and Ghana for a flat fee of 3%. Rossiello believes that the shortage of payment options in Africa makes it a fertile ground in which Bitcoin can grow. "Credit cards are only available to less than 3% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa. PayPal is blocked in many countries or much more expensive in the few it is operating. Bank transfers and remittance corridors are two to three times the price as elsewhere," she said.

Kapeskas believes that consumers in the developed world are stuck in the credit card age, which has been ongoing for over 65 years. “If recognized, [Bitcoin’s] value is the same regardless of where you do business, eliminating friction points and facilitating the faster flow of goods,” he wrote.

“Our whole concept of money and how it gets exchanged is going to change as we become increasingly digitized.”
— – Kapeskas

According to his post, the companies which succeed are able eliminate barriers and make commerce easier, “perhaps that’s why global trade is so ready for a global exchange system that enables seamless transactions.” The SEF focuses on developing partnerships with information technology companies in emerging market-spaces.