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Bitcoin Economy Boosting Entrepreneurship in Africa
Artur Schabak and Ray Youssef – Co Founders of Paxful (Photo: Paxful)
Many young Africans see bitcoin as an opportunity to develop commercial ventures
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 3, 2019 – Blockchain technology and the role of entrepreneurship in driving Africa’s prosperity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), were some of the key topics taking centre stage at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa which was held in Cape Town recently. Paxful, a leading peer-to-peer global bitcoin marketplace, is excited about the improving economic outlook for Africa and entrepreneurial growth opportunities.
With nearly 3 million users globally and Africa being its fastest-growing customer base, Paxful has a unique insight into the development of the crypto economy across the continent. The company is seeing an increase in the amount of entrepreneurial activity on its platform. Many young Africans see bitcoin as an opportunity to develop commercial ventures; users set up side-hustles and their own full-time businesses including remittance businesses. Paxful has found that users from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa have been the most active to date this year with many operating drop-shipping businesses, payment services, as well as import-export ventures amongst others.
Crypto Economy Holds Promise for Intra-Africa Trade
Intra-regional trade is one of the highest priorities for African governments, as evidenced by initiatives such as the historic African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. By some estimates, the AfCFTA could boost Africa trade by more than 33% and generate billions of dollars of GDP gains for the continent over the long term. Various studies have shown that the digital economy presents an opportunity for Africa to deepen trade relations and boost the continent’s GDP.
Already Paxful is seeing that many African users prefer to trade with each other – territories like Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa lead intra-Africa trade activity on the Paxful platform.
Examples of a New Generation of Bitcoin-Fluent Entrepreneurs in Africa
Over the years, Paxful has engaged many business owners who see a future for themselves in the crypto space. Beyond the big players, there are many ambitious up and coming bitcoin savvy business owners who focus on the African market. An entrepreneur-born in Malawi, named Grey, helps consumers buy and sell bitcoin. He has managed to expand his business to employ staff that help consumers in Malawi to navigate the crypto space to better meet their financial needs. He also mentioned that many of his customers have limited access to credit cards, opting instead to buy bitcoin in order to purchase products and services on various e-commerce and streaming websites. Some of his customers will resell the products they buy for a profit. Others will keep the products for personal use or send them to loved ones.
Some of Grey’s customers even use bitcoin to purchase cars from vendors in Japan for resell in various African countries. Interestingly most of his customers find him on social media and through messaging apps.
Social development organizations that operate in Africa like Zam Zam Water and Grow Educare Centres have also expanded their sights to include cryptocurrency in raising funds for their projects. Zam Zam Water has built schools and pays teacher salaries for communities in need in Rwanda with money raised in the bitcoin industry. Bitcoin funds raised by Grow Educare Centres has bought supplies – including books, stationery, and toys – for low-fee kindergartens that support disadvantaged communities.
“While African entrepreneurs continue to face many lingering challenges, we have seen first-hand on our platform how the opportunity to use technology and innovate can achieve greater financial inclusion as well as socio-economic development and job creation,” Ray Youseff, CEO and co-founder of Paxful.
“As an African-born tech entrepreneur myself, my hope is that African governments, regulators and policymakers will create the right operating environment for the continent’s young Digi-entrepreneurs to succeed,” he added.
Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award (Image: Supplied).
Since its inception in 1972, the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award has established the platform as the ultimate accolade highlighting female founders and CEO’s globally. Esteemed for honouring female pioneers who embody the spirit of Madame Clicquot, this award has two categories, the Bold Woman Award and the Bold Future Award, which highlight and give visibility to innovative women around the world. This is the first and longest-running international award of its kind and South African female business leaders and entrepreneurs looking to elevate their businesses and join a community of like-minded trailblazers are invited to enter from 18 March 2024.
Over 52 years, the award has celebrated women who exemplify the same tenacious, enterprising spirit of the Grande Dame of Champagne, Madame Clicquot. Widowed at the age of 27 in 1805, she defied norms and transformed an entire industry – an extraordinary feat during an era when women faced significant limitations, unable even to establish personal bank accounts, let alone independently own or manage businesses. The Bold Woman Award is a powerful tribute to women who share her fearlessness and determination. Open to women in 27 countries, the award has honoured over 450 businesswomen to date. Not only does it applaud their leadership, but also provides laureates with prominence, a powerful platform and access to an inspiring global community.
The award’s impact is invaluable, and these Bold women in turn inspire and motivate future generations of female leaders. The South African edition of the 2023 Bold by Veuve Clicquot Barometer reveals that 72% of aspiring women entrepreneurs are inspired by, and can name, a local female role model. This finding underscores the vital role of the Bold by Veuve Clicquot programme, which sets out to fortify a sustainable future for businesswomen globally through impactful initiatives that inspire mentorship and collaboration. The data for the 2023 Bold by Veuve Clicquot Barometer was collated from over 49,000 women and men surveyed in 25 countries, contributing to a powerful overview of female entrepreneurship globally.
One initiative that sets out to amplify the Bold Programme and fosters global female networking is Veuve Clicquot’s Bold Open Database, a collaborative database catalysing social and economic development. South African women seeking to connect with fellow female entrepreneurs across the globe are invited to register Here.
The women who step into the Bold Woman Award spotlight pay tribute to the legacy of Madame Clicquot and play a vital role in inspiring future generations of female entrepreneurs. South African women who are ready to be recognized for their business achievements are called to enter the 2024 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award.
HOW TO ENTER
To enter the Bold Woman Award, candidates must be founders or CEOs of a company for more than three years, have demonstrated transformation and evolution in their field, and supported growth for at least two years while maintaining an ethical approach to business.
To qualify for the Bold Future Award, candidates must be the founders or CEOs of a company that has been in existence for less than three years. In that time, the candidate must have made a significant contribution to the success of their company by instilling a sense of entrepreneurship and have made a tangible contribution to transformation in an existing market, while bringing ethical change to the company.
Three finalists in each category will be selected by an esteemed jury and will be invited to attend the Bold Woman Award ceremony on 17 July where one laureate in each of the categories will be lauded by a grand jury. The Bold Woman Award winner will travel to Reims, France, for an immersion in the history, tradition, and luxury of Maison Veuve Clicquot.
Entries open on 18 March and close on 30 April 2024. Business leaders and role models who are ready to be recognised for their remarkable success are invited to enter the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award by completing a simple form Here.
Applicants must be an official resident of South Africa and the business must be based in or operating in South Africa. The finalists will be selected by an independent panel of judges.
Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) Chief Executive Officer, Thierno Habib Hann, has presented his credentials to Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya and Foreign & Diaspora Affairs Minister of Kenya, H.E Dr. Musalia Mudavadi.
In a formal ceremony held at the Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya’s office in Nairobi, Mr. Hann conveyed Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s commitment to enhancing its collaboration with the Government of Kenya in addressing the pressing challenges of affordable housing and urban development in the country and across Africa.
Mr. Hann highlighted the organization’s commitment to sustaining its impactful efforts in Kenya, particularly in advancing affordable housing programs. Mr. Hann reiterated Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s dedication to supporting Kenya’s housing agenda with a particular focus on housing programs that seek to address key thematic areas of climate financing, gender, migrants, refugees, and the diaspora.
“We enjoy a great relationship with the Government of Kenya, being Kenya Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s largest shareholder and we are looking forward to scaling up projects that are in line with the visionary economic development agenda – Kenya Vision 2030. We extend our gratitude to the Government of Kenya for their enduring confidence in our institution and for hosting ShafDB’s Headquarters for the last 42 years,” stated Mr. Hann.
He further conveyed Shelter Afrique Development Bank ‘s readiness to collaborate closely with Kenyan authorities in implementing innovative solutions aimed at expediting the provision of quality, affordable housing, and associated infrastructure and urban development across the nation.
Welcoming Mr. Hann and accepting his appointment, Prime Cabinet Secretary Honorable Musalia Mudavadi, commended Shelter Afrique Development Bank for its ongoing transformation and continued commitment to Kenya and further Africa’s development priorities, highlighting the organization’s valuable contributions to the region’s housing sector over the years.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and N Gage Consulting signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance implementation of the AfCFTA within Africa, with a focus on North Africa and Arabic speaking countries as well as harness the potential of the AfCFTA through targeted outreach towards positive impact in Africa. The MoU was sealed by the AfCFTA Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Wamkele Mene and Mr. Karim Refaat, Chairman of N Gage Consulting and Dr. Sherif Fahmy, CEO.
The was established as an effort to eliminate trade barriers among African countries with the aim of creating a single market size of 1.3 billion people with a combined annual GDP of $3.4 trillion. As the largest free trade area in the world, the AfCFTA is expected to increase intra-African trade and promote regional economic integration of Africa and, as a result, contribute to the sustainable economic and social development of the continent through the creation of employment opportunities and the reduction of poverty.
Pursuant to the MoU, the two parties commit to strengthen cooperation and promote concrete activities in areas of conducting webinars, tailor effective roundtable sessions, public-private dialogues and to develop a series of monthly newsletters to disseminate relevant information through social media platforms with the aim of raising awareness of business and governments on the AfCFTA, its objectives and showcasing AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative and its role in powering trade among members states.
Additionally, the collaboration will facilitate the preparation for the AfCFTA Business Forum and The Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) and the execution of different capacity building programs for the member states in order to leverage the AfCFTA to boost intra-African trade and utilise Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to support investment in infrastructure.
The MoU is expected to promote the AfCFTA as a trade liberalisation instrument and sustainable development enabler and accelerator as well as enhance intra-African trade as an engine for economic diversification and industrialisation.
As one of the leading companies operating in the area of government relations and public policy in the MENA region, N Gage Consulting is committed to support the AfCFTA and will deploy all the necessary resources to strengthen and expand cooperation with the AfCFTA Secretariat to enhance African trade integration.
In addition to her impressive legal background, Rosemond has cultivated a niche expertise in the tech startup ecosystem. She has consistently provided comprehensive consulting, due diligence, and investor readiness services to numerous companies in the tech sector.
