Jack Dorsey eyes African market
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey spent November on an extended trip through Africa, talking with Bitcoin business owners in Ghana, meeting with tech startups in Nigeria, and talking up the region’s Bitcoin prospects.
Crypto continent — an African snapshot
When the bitcoin ecosystem began to take shape, one of its first “killer apps” was supposed to be its ability to provide banking services and low-cost remittances to regions of Africa poorly served by the traditional banking sector. Due to bitcoin’s relatively high transaction fees, however, and the lack of exchange liquidity to convert bitcoin into local fiat currency, personal remittances using bitcoin have proven to be more expensive than existing services like WorldRemit — and using bitcoin for personal payments makes little sense for most Africans.
Alleviating corruption and poverty with technology
It takes 16 hours to drive from Lagos to Abuja, but one hour to fly. According to Google Maps, the trip should take under 12 hours. However, police will stop you every 30 minutes or so to ask for bribes. If you don’t pay up, you risk jail or your tires being slashed. My younger brother calls it “oil money” — ancillary payments such as these grease the wheels of Nigerian society. The lack of accountability and corruption are entrenched in Nigerian society. Nigeria’s growing population of 185 million has encountered rising unemployment and violence. Youth under the age of 25 — more than 60% of the population — have been hit hardest. These are my cousins — talented and capable, with much to contribute. Society is leaving them behind.
BitBond and Bitpesa target P2P loans for African Businesses
Bitbond and Bitpesa recently announced a new initiative offering small business loans to Kenyans, Nigerians, Tanzanians, and Ugandans. In a bid “to improve access to financing for SMEs in Africa,” the move allows Bitbond borrowers in the four countries to “withdraw loans into their mobile money or bank account in as little as 20 mins,” according to Bitbond’s announcement.
Bitwala announces fee-free Bitcoin to M-Pesa service
Bitwala recently announced that their customers are able to transfer bitcoin to any M-Pesa account in four African countries. Available in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Uganda, this new service is “free of charge – forever,” according to the announcement.
75% of corporate treasurers in Africa and Latin America interested in blockchain solutions, says Ovum
Global technology research and advisory firm, Ovum, recently published the results of a Corporate Treasurer survey, developed in partnership with Swiss financial services software specialist, Temenos.
Africa’s blockchain transformation
*ValueWeb* makes the contention that you cannot have an internet of things without a real-time and cheap internet of value. A core part of this is focused upon building a cheap shared ledger structure for digital identity and digital currencies and guess what? That cheap shared ledger is most likely going to be built in Africa. In fact, Devie Mohan of Thomson Reuters, one of the many fine speakers at *Dot Finance*, predicted that Africa would invent the global standard for digital identity and she may well be right.
The challenges of mobile financial inclusion
One of the gating factors to financial inclusion is the mobile network itself. It sounds simple to say that all of Africa can have access to mobile money, and they can, but if each telco has different wallet structures, charges and fees, then the ease of usage falls sharply. This is why interoperability is a key factor and Tanzania leads the way in this regard.
The African Mobile Revolution
Last week I chaired the inaugural *Dot Finance Live*conference in Nairobi, Kenya. It is Africa’s premier FinTech event, drawing people from all over the countries of sub-Sahara Africa. What struck me as I listened to lots of keynotes about mobile innovation and mobile financial inclusion, is that Africa is actually leading the world in financial innovation. This is because Africa is a continent where the majority of people were previously excluded from financial service.
Bitcoin conference in South Africa convenes to discuss challenges and opportunities
The 2nd Annual Blockchain and Bitcoin Africa Conference starts today, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The two day event is being co-hosted by Bitcoin Events Pty Ltd and Absa, a member of Barclays bank.
Tunisian post tests African digital currency market
The Tunisian National Post Office has a 45% share of the banking market, and will be issuing a digital fiat currency used as legal tender across Tunisia through the Monetas smart contract platform in 2016.
Ghanan Remittance Startup Beam Drops Bitcoin For Debit And Credit Cards
A Ghanan remittance startup has pivoted to remove digital currency bitcoin from its service and instead offer expat Ghanaians the ability to buy gifts and services for their loved ones back home.
Nigeria’s Central Bank Calls For Digital Currency Regulation To Stop Illicit Trade
The Central Bank of Nigeria also [banned foreign currency deposit](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/06/nigeria-currency-idUSL5N10H2C220150806) earlier this month in an attempt to stop illicit money traffickers in the country.
Kenyan Payments Startup Wins $100,000 from Gates Foundation
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a hefty prize to Kenyan Startup BitSoko, for their mobile money platform that includes a bitcoin wallet and merchant Point of Sale interface.
Bitcoin Companies Tackling The African Market
Mobile money in Africa has experienced an explosion of growth over the past few years, and a range of Bitcoin companies are entering the lucrative market.
Zimbabwean Bitcoin Exchange Becomes Savannah Fund’s First Bitcoin Investment
African venture capital firm, Savannah Fund, has invested in their first Bitcoin startup. BitFinance is a Zimbabwean exchange and designer of a yet-to-be launched crypto-currency atm.
