Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies for Africa

Meeting name : Transform Africa Summit 2018
Panel name: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency for Africa

PANEL 1. A single crypto currency for Africa?
Session Partners: HealID

The idea of an African currency was first proposed at the same time as the idea of a United Africa. A century later, as Africa's continental free trade area finally sees the day, and the free movement of people meet with blockchain technology, the time for a single African crypto-currency is at the same time revisited. Should it be opened up? What are the obstacles in the way, and how to surmount them?

Conversation Leaders

Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Governor, National Bank of Rwanda

Craig Wright, CTO, nChain Group > the Australian who says he’s Satoshi Nakamito, the Bitcoin founder.

Tunde Ladipo, VP partnerships, Stellar

Thibault Verbiest, Partner, DS Avocats

Charles Hoskinson, CEO, IOHK

Special Intervention by
Hon. Minette Libom Li Likeng, Minister of Telecommunications and Postal services, Cameroun

Moderated by
Georgie Ndirangu, Presenter, CNBC

Priorities:

1. Centralizing the Blockchain through exchanges. It’s possible that way even though the blockchain is centralized but they’re used from exchanges.
2. ICOs: regulating ICOs
3. For countries, it’s a new competitor for the national currency. Is bitcoin adapted to national currencies? Is it possible to create a global currency? Option 3: tokenise the national currency (fiat). Option 4: tokenize state entity.

Way forward:

1. Synergies to be created;
2. The government is open for discussions

PANEL 2. Blockchain technologies for Africa
Session Partners: HeadID

Blockchain solutions have already been deployed to trace coffee in Ethiopia, Cobalt in Congo and are being adopted in more Africans countries. In order to maximise the benefits of this new technology, Africa will need to plan ahead, and build R&D in the most promising sectors, while scaling the proven technologies. What are the most promising blockchain technologies? How can they be best adapted to Africa, and how can they be scaled?

Conversation Leaders
Laurent Lamothe, Co-Founder, Global Voice Group

The blockchain is the new internet.

Stephen Roux, CEO, Dosatsu.io

Makoto Takemiya, Co-CEO, Soramitsu

Loudon McLean, CEO, DLTLabs

DTL IS A SYSTEM ON WHICH WE CAN DREAM.

Clement Uwajeneza, CEO, Rwanda Online
We cannot avoid the Blockchain Technology, we need to figure out ways to use it.

Tim X. Brown, Associate Director, CMU Africa

Special Intervention:
Hon. Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele, Minister of Teleommunications and Postal Services, South Africa (TBC)

Here’s one of the slides from the presentation by the bitcoin founder.

My contribution to the meeting

After the questions that many people of Africa are poor and might not afford the expenses of joining the blockchain and secondly on which Cryptocurrency to join/use first, I raised my hand, got a mic and then said #Steemit is the solution. I told them how people around the world are getting #steem money just from the content they create online and without necessarily investing their hard currencies.

After my speech people were amased and even journalists came to me to ask how it’s done.

I also had the pleasure of sitting next to Mr. John, the incharge of ePayments at the central bank of #Rwanda who also liked the idea of creating jobs through the use of blockchain enabled platforms.

The following day after the meeting I received journalists from Rwanda television who asked more about Steemit and we had a chance of explaining everything to them.