In this first episode of a special 12 episode Fintech Friday series with Binance Africa, we're exploring why Africa is primed to become the next gold mine for cryptocurrency. From the continent's youthful, tech-savvy population and high remittance needs to the impressive smartphone adoption rates and burgeoning digital payment systems, we will cover it all.

With insightful examples like Ghana’s pioneering blockchain initiatives, you’ll discover how cryptocurrency could revolutionize financial inclusivity and stability in Africa. A special thanks to our sponsors, Binance Africa, for supporting this episode.

About Binance

Binance is the world's leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more. For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/4gbOtZR

Disclaimer: For the avoidance of doubt, the use of the terminology of depositing or withdrawing does not mean that Binance receives, holds, or releases any fiat currency through its platform nor does it contemplate any deposit taking, remittances or similar activity by Binance.

Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to high market risk and price volatility. The value of your investment may go down or up, and you may not get back the amount invested. You are solely responsible for your investment decisions and Binance is not liable for any losses you may incur. Past performance is not a reliable predictor of future performance. You should only invest in products you are familiar with and where you understand the risks. You should carefully consider your investment experience, financial situation, investment objectives and risk tolerance and consult an independent financial adviser before investing. This material should not be construed as financial advice. For more information, see our Terms of Use and Risk Warning.

Episode Agenda

• Remittance needs and effectiveness
• High mobile penetration
• Digital payment adoption
• Economic stability and currency volatility
• Youthful population
• Government initiatives

Africa’s Youthful Population

• Africa as the youngest continent
• Predictions by the World Economic Forum
• The average age of the African population
• Youth as tech-savvy, making it conducive for blockchain and cryptocurrency adoption

High Remittance Needs

• Significant African diaspora
• Impact on economic stability in African nations
• Example of Nigeria
• Smartphone ownership facilitating remittance
• Cryptocurrencies as a solution for faster and more affordable cross-border transactions

Government Initiatives

• Example of Ghana’s blockchain adoption
• Statements by Ghana’s vice president, Doctor Baumia
• Goals for a blockchain-powered government
• Implementation of blockchain technology to increase transparency and combat corruption

Economic Instability and Currency Volatility

• Economic challenges in various parts of Africa
• Cryptocurrency as a means to counter currency fluctuations
• Mention of stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies like Binance's BNB
• The issue of the unbanked and underbanked populations
• Digital wallets as a bridge to financial inclusion

High Smartphone Adoption

• Extent of mobile phone access across Africa
• The role of mobile phones in financial inclusion
• Rise of mobile money services
• The introduction of Binance's services in specific African countries
• Features like one-click buy and sell
• Emphasis on security measures and KYC protocols

Digital Payment Adoption

• Collaboration between Binance and other entities to enhance crypto accessibility
• Results of a survey on Ghana's stance in cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption

Binance Enables Crypto Purchases with Mobile Money in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia

26 August 2024, Accra - Binance, the world's leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, is excited to announce the expansion of its services in Africa. Users in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia can now buy and sell crypto assets using mobile money, enhancing accessibility and convenience for crypto enthusiasts in these regions.

With the introduction of Binance’s One Click Buy and Sell (OCBS) feature, users can seamlessly purchase crypto assets and sell assets directly from their mobile money accounts. This new feature is part of their global fiat on-ramp/off-ramp offering, developed in partnership with Transfi. Users are reminded to upgrade to the latest version of the Binance app.

To ensure a secure experience, Binance applies rigorous Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols and robust security measures. These practices are designed to protect users' assets and personal information while meeting regulatory requirements.

By enabling mobile money deposits and withdrawals with these safeguards, Binance aims to make cryptocurrency more accessible to the unbanked and underbanked populations in Africa. This initiative aligns with Binance’s mission to increase the freedom of money globally and empower users with easy access to digital assets

Research links

• The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2023
• Mobile Phone Penetration in Africa to Reach 88% By 2030
• Factors accelerating cryptocurrency adoption in Africa
• Binance | You're gateway into Web3
• Ghana: My Goal is for Ghana to have the First Block Chain-Powered Government in Africa – Dr Bawumia
• How can Africa become an economic growth powerhouse? | World Economic Forum

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Hello, everyone. Welcome to the FinTech Friday series on the Sound

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of Accra podcast, where we unpack economic topics and

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affairs across the African continent. I'm your host,

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Adrian Daniels. This brand new series on FinTech

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Friday is the first of 12 special episodes where

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we explore blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in a

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lot more detail. Special thanks to our sponsors, Binance

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Africa. Binance is the world's leading blockchain ecosystem

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and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial

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product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by

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volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance

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platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users

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and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and

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offerings including trading and finance, education,

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data and research, social good, investment incubation,

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decentralization and infrastructure solutions and more.

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For more information, visit www.binance.com.

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For more information, disclaimers, risk warnings and links,

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please check the podcast description section below.

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In today's episode, we will explore why Africa is the next gold mine for

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cryptocurrency covering remittance needs and effectiveness,

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high mobile penetration, digital payment adoption, economic

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stability and currency volatility, youthful population

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and government initiatives. Just a reminder,

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today's references used for today's episode will all be found in the

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podcast play description section below. Let's get

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straight into it. Now Africa is predicted to have

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strong economic growth in the years to come. So it's a real fertile

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ground for cryptocurrency to become the next thing. Now let's get

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into the reasons why Africa is the next gold mine for

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cryptocurrency. Now the first one we need to explore is

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Africa is the youngest continent on the planet. Now according to the World

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Economic Forum, Africa will represent 1 fifth of

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the world's population by 2030. I mean, that is just mind

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blowing. Now the average age for any African

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is over 19 years old. This youthful

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makeup over the continent can only mean there's great potential for the

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the future overall for Africa. But even more so, a young

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population are the most tech savvy. So it makes the perfect

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place for technology such as the blockchain and cryptocurrency

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to experience massive growth in adoption and development.

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Okay. Now the next reason why Africa is the next gold mine

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for cryptocurrency is is that remittance needs are very

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high on the African continent. Now there is a lot of

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African diasporans living abroad outside of

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Africa and this means that earning power plays a

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crucial part in contributing to the economic stability of many

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African nations. Nigeria, for instance, has the largest African

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population and naturally it also has the largest African

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diasporan population in the world. And also this also naturally

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means that Nigeria receives the highest remittance compared to any

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other African country. Now there is no reason

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why remittance is a huge industry. Now

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remittance hugely is possible due to the fact that almost

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every African on the continent owns a smartphone, which

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makes it possible for them to withdraw these funds sent from abroad. Now in this

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episode, we will cover a bit more information regarding

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smartphone adoption. Now cryptocurrencies present a

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faster and a more affordable solution for cross border transactions,

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allowing families to receive funds quickly and securely. And this is

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why Africa could be the next gold mine for cryptocurrency.

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As a result, these are all boosts and accessibility and

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efficiency of digital products and services to Africans on the

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continent. Now for example, some governments in African countries

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such as Ghana are even basing the whole operation on the back of

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the blockchain. For instance, in May 2024,

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Ghana's vice president, doctor Baumia, said that the nation is heading to

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becoming one of the first blockchain powered governments in the world. Now this is

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what he quoted. He said, we are moving towards blockchain technology

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because blockchain technology makes it possible to discover any and all

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changes made to digital data, no matter how small, no matter

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by whom we will find it immediately. So the blockchain

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practically blocks corruption and this is where we are headed to so that

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you can track and trace all transactions across the government space. And this is

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a very, very effective tool. He goes on to say,

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our goal is to make Ghana the 1st blockchain powered government

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in Africa and one of the few in the world. We believe we

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can be the 1st in Africa to do so, he declared. Over

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99% of the Ghanaian government has been onboarded onto the Ghana dot

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gov digital platform, where many government databases and services are

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operating from. If the government is embracing blockchain

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technology to this capacity, it really still

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is early days. And the general public will surely be fertile ground

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for becoming cryptocurrency users in the months years to

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come. Okay. Let's continue. Now

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let's talk about the economic instability and currency

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volatility across Africa. Now, this

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is in various parts of Africa when it comes to economic instability and

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currency volatility. And it makes it very difficult for the average African citizen to

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be financially self sufficient. Now, if cryptocurrency rising in adoption in the continent, this

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will certainly be a golden opportunity to help many Africans

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overcome the fluctuation of opportunity to

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help many Africans overcome the fluctuation of their

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national currency by holding cryptocurrency stable coins

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and even other coins such as Binance's BNB coin on

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cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, which is the world's biggest

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Bitcoin exchange and Altcoin crypto exchange platform by

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volume. In addition, according to further Africa,

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a large percentage of Africans are unbanked and underbanked.

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Meaning no access to basics like a bank account. Now with

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cryptocurrency, there is now an opportunity to provide basic

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financial services through digital wallets, which massively helps to

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close this gap of being unbanked. Once a former bank is

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in place, other benefits of having a bank such as having access to

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loans and credits helps such African citizens to get on a ladder

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to having a better quality of life. Now let's

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talk about smartphone adoption. Almost every African has

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an access to a smartphone regardless of how rich or poor they are.

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And this is really amazing to see when you're out there in Africa. Now

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according to the GSMA, that is the Global Systems For Mobile Communication,

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over 88% of Africans will have access to a mobile phone.

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These are very good numbers for technologies like cryptocurrency and

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blockchain to thrive. The smartphone adoption on the continent is

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very high. And as a result, one of the most transformative

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impacts of of mobile phone penetration has always been the rise of mobile

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money services. Now these services have provided

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financial inclusion to millions of unbanked individuals, allowing them

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to perform transactions and even save money and even

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access credit through their mobile phones. Now Binance,

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the world's leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, is

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excited to announce the expansion of its services in

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Africa. Users in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda,

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and Zambia can now buy and sell crypto assets using mobile

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money, enhancing accessibility and convenience for crypto

Speaker: 00:07:44

enthusiasts in these regions. With the introduction of Binance's

Speaker: 00:07:48

one click buy and sell feature, that's the OCBS,

Speaker: 00:07:51

users can seamlessly purchase crypto assets and sell assets

Speaker: 00:07:55

directly from their mobile money accounts. This new feature is part

Speaker: 00:07:59

of their global fiat on ramp, off ramp offering

Speaker: 00:08:02

developed in partnership with Transfee. Users are also

Speaker: 00:08:06

reminded to upgrade to the latest version of the Binance app.

Speaker: 00:08:10

To ensure secure experts, Binance applies rigorous know your

Speaker: 00:08:13

customer, that's KYC, protocols and robust security

Speaker: 00:08:17

measures. These practices are designed to protect users' assets

Speaker: 00:08:20

and personal information while meeting regularity

Speaker: 00:08:24

requirements. By enabling mobile money deposits

Speaker: 00:08:28

and withdrawals with these safeguards, Binance aims to make cryptocurrency

Speaker: 00:08:31

more accessible to the unbanked and underbanked populations in Africa.

Speaker: 00:08:35

This initiative aligns with Binance's mission to increase the freedom

Speaker: 00:08:39

of money globally and empower users with easy access to

Speaker: 00:08:43

digital assets. Mobile adoption plays a vital role

Speaker: 00:08:46

in digital payment adoption. Binance, earlier this year, released

Speaker: 00:08:50

the results of a Binance and Pulse survey, which found that

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Ghana is at the forefront of cryptocurrency and

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blockchain adoption on the continent. I really hope you enjoy that,

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and I really hope you understand why Africa is the next

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gold mine for cryptocurrency and the blockchain. Once

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again, for more information on Binance and the disclaimers,

Speaker: 00:09:13

risk warnings and links, please check the podcast description

Speaker: 00:09:17

section below. You also find references from today's episode.

Speaker: 00:09:21

I'll see you in the next episode of Fintech Fridays powered

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by Binance. Thank you so much. I'm Adrian Daniels, signing

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out. Peace.