Cryptocurrency Will change the way we live in the future. It will revolutionise the way we pay, Donate and spread money ... it will basically change the way we do business. Crypto currency will not only change the way we do business. But how can Cryptocurrency Help a continent like Africa?
There where a lot of posts about Steemit and the wonders of Cryptocurrency, but I have not even thought of its possible world problem solutions! This is an idea that I have heard at Steemit Saturday (which was amazing! More posts on Steemit Saturday coming soon!) One of the biggest problems we face in the world is poverty. I am not saying that Cryptocurrency will end all poverty, that would just be ignorant, but it could get the ball rolling for opportunities in most African countries!
The problems most Africans countries face
We had diverse messages and speakers at Steem Saturday. We had speakers like Ned Scott ( The CEO of Steemit.com) explaining inner details and plans for Steemit and talks about the web of the future by the great steemer @gavvet. But one of the talks that stood out for me was the talk from Sakkie Van Wijk (@sakkievw) and his business friend Jan-Albert Valk. Both of them are experts in doing business in Africa, they know the challenges and how to overcome them. They gave us quick brief of the biggest problems young entrepreneurs face in Africa. Here are some of these problems:
Africa is a continent full of countries
Just like Europe, Africa is full of different countries. Many non Africans think of Africa as a one country, but it is in reality a unity of diverse countries with diverse culture. This makes countries widely different, doing business with Business Plan C in country A will not work necessarily work in Country B due to cultural differences. This Cultural differences will often make things difficult when it comes to trading with neighboring countries. In fact most African countries will make it almost impossible for money to leave the country. This means that it is hard to trade with other companies based in neighboring countries! This shrinks the number of new companies that gets started in these African countries!
Banking is hard in most African countries
OK, banking is an important business in any modern economy. A lot of companies or small time businesses can get loans from a bank to expand there business and or use the funds to be able to trade in dry economic seasons. I am not saying that banks loans is a logical solution for all economic problems, but you also need an account to receive and withdraw money for trading. Unfortunately less than 50% of Africans have a bank account. This makes the Bank fees very high and most of the times inhuman. This makes it almost impossible for young entrepreneurs to start up a new company without a private equity fund's support and or rich friends. But once again, banking quite an essential part of our current world economic model, I am not saying it is good ( Steem Saturday revealed a lot of hatred towards Modern day banks).
Now how can Cryptocurrency help Africa?
Well the first problem concerning with the money not leaving the country could have been theoretically solved by the internet banking. But it is still hard to send money away to another country due to bad banking service and tough regulations. This is where cryptocurrency steps in for the rescue. Cryptocurrency can help small businesses to trade with neighboring countries with little hassle due to cryptocurrencies no governed nature.
The banking problem can also be fixed by a new cryptocurrency banking model. But this is something that is still in development and we will have to see how things will play out. But the cryptocurrency wallet fees are relatively low compared to the African Banks. This wallet can be a better alternative for the bad banking systems.
Donations can be much easier. In fact Crowd funding initiatives like the Steem advertisement billboard, which Ricardo Goncalves (@steemdrive also met him at Steem Saturday) organised, is a good example of the power it can have. These Crowd funding initiatives can help organisations raise money in an easier fashion. There are current initiatives from people like Lorien Gamaroff ( Also a Steem Saturday speaker) who have combined Pay-as-you-go electricity meters and Bitcoin Payment systems to help schools to receive small payments online to help power up the school!
This is a short post is just to show how the cryptocurrency could help other countries in need. It will not solve all problems, but it just may be the tool to get the ball rolling for faster meaningful economic growth! These ideas was all things that was shared on Steem Saturday. It was an amazing day with amazing people! I want to thank @jacor, @gavvet, @robertm and @naomi.louise for organizing this amazing day. I also need to thank @rynow For giving me a lift to Steem Saturday!
What do you think? Could Cryptocurrency help poor countries? Share your thoughts down below! Don't forget to Upvote and follow me if you liked what you read!
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Can't believe no one has thrown in a comment here.
And yes, i do believe cryptocurrencies can be the savior these people need. I'm not a fond of banking in it's current state but some sort of lending mechanism is needed for a society to prosper.
Everyone should stand on equal ground and share the same opportunities.
I live in Africa born and bread South African, in my opinion nothing will ever be able to help Africans until they decide to help themselves! The people in my country and leadership ( Government ) for example are not interested in helping themselves or each other, instead they are obsessed with bringing everyone down to there level!
Most people here struggle to use ATMs, so trying to explain bitcoin and block chain technology to a African can be very frustrating. Currently the average IQ in South Africa is 60 +-
Great post thanks for sharing
Cheerz!
It is always possible to explain anything to anyone. It is just a matter of dedicating enough time to it. At least in my opinion.
Pretty soon cryptocurrency will change how we receive payment, just wait until people get a hold of it, i tried explaining to some older folks about a week ago and all they said was fraud but i'm very sure if i had shown them my wallet and how i tranfer money around without physically carry it they will be interested.
hello storm blaze i am the online marketing manager of the Alkebulan AKB (ONE africa cryptocurrency) we will be using this write up as part of our White paper. please send me your facebook account. will like to have a word with you thank you