On 16th and 17th of July, Cryptobaraza and Centonomy held a 2-day virtual event on Unlocking New Opportunities and Why Kenyans and East African should pay attention to Cryptocurrencies sponsored by Paxful.
Due to growing demand for learning and investing in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, a panel of the heads of the Blockchain Associations of East Africa joined via video and call to unpack opportunities and challenges they see across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
The event was a teaser for the 3rd Season of Making Sense of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies online learning program which kicks off on July 31st.
Here is a quick recap of the key takeaways from the webinar session:
PAXFUL AFRICA
Modibe Matspane, Paxful Africa’s Community Coordinator, shared his insights from working with one of Africa’s largest peer to peer exchanges, Paxful. Over $15 million of Bitcoin is traded on paxful every week in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and other countries.
Modibe attributed increasing volumes to an increase in real word use cases of Bitcoin by young Africans. For example, his own story of using Bitcoin for pocket change when travelling across African countries to meet Paxful communities.
African users on Paxful platform earn incomes as Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies vendors, others earn through Paxful’s peer program and others use it for cross border payments for online work, trade and services.
KENYA
Roselyn Gicira, Chairperson at the Blockchain Association of Kenya, shared her story of finding a community and support on cryptocurrencies through Kenya blockchain community. Her journey began in 2016, when she learnt about how cryptocurrencies presented an opportunity to diversify investments into global projects. She went on to learn more on how to trade before putting down her own money. She encouraged everyone to seek out authentic communities to avoid falling into the trap of crypto scams.
RWANDA
Norbert Haguma, Chairperson of the Blockchain Association of Rwanda, asserted the big opportunity for Africa to leverage cryptocurrency blockchains to lay out a new financial infrastructure across Africa.
He highlighted a project by the Rwandan Development Authority to support Gorilla conservation efforts through a crowdfunded cryptocurrency token, Gorilla Coin. The project faced regulatory hurdles from government agencies and was put on hold. Just like Kenya, Rwanda was facing the challenge of uncertainty on regulations, which left room for cryptocurrency scams and misinformation.
TANZANIA
Sandra Chogo, Founder and Partner Blocktech Tanzania, is writing a book in Swahili on Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies titled: Watanzania Tuilewe Blockchain Kwa Lugha Yetu
She discovered the opportunities in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry through the Kenyan and Ugandan communities, and made it a point to take the message back home by teaching others at all levels.
Sandra’s book addresses core themes such scams, problems that have equally faced Kenya, Rwanda and most recently Uganda.
UGANDA
Noah, an executive of the Blockchain Association of Uganda and co-founder of CryptoSavannah emphasised the importance of rallying communities to engage the regulators in one voice for mass adoption of Cryptocurrency and blockchain, a strategy that had paid off for them in Uganda. They were able to amend regulations to include virtual asset service providers (VASP) which opened doors for crypto exchange companies to serve Ugandans.
All panelists recommend we use every opportunity there is to learn about Cryptocurrencies from attending community events, forums and conferences to reading books and enrolling in courses to protect ourselves and while unlocking opportunities.
Cryptobaraza and Centonomy took the audience through a tour of Making Sense of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, a hands-on 5-week program they jointly offer to help learners understand how to approach Crypto-assets as an investment in the long and short term.
Learners are taught through activities on real-world platforms and by the end of the program they are able to:
- Buy and sell cryptocurrency on world’s reputable marketplaces and exchanges
- Securely store your cryptocurrency in their private wallet and monitor real-time transactions on a blockchain
- Join like-minded individuals and be part of a communities where they can continuously learn from and exchange value during and after the program
Season 3 intake is ongoing and you can sign up here
We again thank our event sponsor Paxful, key partners; Blockchain Association of Rwanda, Blockchain Association of Uganda, Blocktech Tanzania and Blockchain Association of Kenya for making the event a huge success.
Use our Scam Guide to protect yourself against Cryptocurrency scams.
About Cryptobaraza
Cryptobaraza brings together individuals and groups of people interested in learning and investing in Cryptocurrencies. It is designed, built and backed by Tollbridge International.
About Centonomy
Centonomy Ltd is a financial literacy institution that seeks to shift mindsets so that purposeful people can create wealth and live abundantly. Centonomy has trained over 15,000 people to date through various programs and reached millions via their online platforms. Through coaching, the institution assists individuals in achieving their own definition of financial freedom, career advancement, and business success. Individuals learn to define their values and be motivated to proactively structure their lives. It has since offered mentorship to youth through the Centonomy Teens and Campus Edition Programs.
