Bitcoin is growing rapidly in Africa and is about to enter the mobile payment industry

Author: Velvet Gold Mine

Recently, some African countries have been particularly active in the research and development of Bitcoin. All signs indicate that the region's mobile currency market will rely more on Bitcoin technology in the coming years. According to relevant data, the number of mobile payment users in these regions will reach 101.34 million in 2016.

According to the results of the 2015 Africa Attractiveness Survey initiated by Ernst & Young, Africa received a total of US$128 billion in capital investment between 2013 and 2014, an increase of 136% compared with the previous period. Overseas direct investment assets provided 188,400 new jobs, an increase of 68% compared with the previous period.

Thabang Mashiloane, co-founder of Chankura in South Africa, revealed that of the $128 billion, about 13% flows into Africa through remittance transfers. Many Africans living abroad do not have bank accounts, so if African countries can solve the problem of insufficient blockchain infrastructure, these people will definitely benefit a lot.

Mashiloane made a bold prediction in an interview with Bitcoin media Cointelegraph:

“I believe Bitcoin will become popular in Africa.”

He also said: "The mobile money market is still a relatively well-developed industry in Africa. The biggest drawback hindering its development is the lack of communication with the global financial market. Now with Bitcoin, whether a person is rich or poor, a Harvard graduate or an illiterate, they have the opportunity to enter the global financial market. One of the easiest ways is to buy stocks of Wall Street companies. African farmers can even use Bitcoin and smart contracts to easily trade with people in any corner of the world. These are things that mobile money or traditional banking cannot do before."

Bellaj Badr, a blockchain expert from Morocco, said that the use of Bitcoin in South Africa and sub-Saharan African countries will definitely increase greatly in the future. These countries are currently popularizing the use of digital currencies, and the development prospects of many Bitcoin companies are bright. South Africa's ICE3X and BitX are both well-developed Bitcoin companies, and BitPesa has also established several branches in East and West Africa.

“I am 100% sure that the Bitcoin revolution has already begun in Africa and that Bitcoin technology will eventually become as successful as mobile payments in Africa,” Badr said.

Mashiloane said that Bitcoin has caused a revolution in the field of mobile money in Africa and will soon become the backbone of Africa's new generation of financial industry.

He also cited Kenya as an example, claiming that one of the main reasons why traditional banking has not been able to develop in these regions is because the cost of building banking infrastructure in these countries is too high, and said:

"The cost of establishing a mobile money company is estimated to be 70% less than that of a bank. Now that Bitcoin is available, financial companies that use Bitcoin technology will have to invest much less in the initial infrastructure of their companies than ordinary mobile money companies. As I mentioned earlier, in the face of the new financial market structure in the future, financial companies that use Bitcoin need to strengthen cooperation with companies that provide Bitcoin infrastructure. Only in this way can we promote the development of markets including payment, remittance loans, insurance and other blockchain-related companies."

JPM compiled from

Coin Telegraph, Why Bitcoin Will Beat Mobile Payment to Its Game in Africa.