Is DEFI The Vehicle For Africa’s Economic Liberation?

The World Economic Forum published an article which showed that Africa’s crypto market has grown by $105.6 Billion in the past year.

This has been propagated largely by the bustling ecosystem of peer to peer (P2P) platforms which have become the frontiers of cryptocurrency adoption in the continent.

That number, if looked at from a different lens means that Africa remains to be the perfect vector for cryptocurrencies and in large, decentralized finance (DeFi).

The correlation between Africa’s vitality to crypto adoption and the actual adoption rate brings in the question of if crypto and decentralized finance could be the messiah to Africa’s economic liberation and if so, at what risk? As questions like these arise, it is important for thought leaders, policy makers and regulators across Africa to come together and take a collective stand on what the future of finance in Africa should look like.

Cuy Sheffield, the head of Crypto at Visa, in his article Crypto and Black Economic Empowerment notes that:

“It’s critical for crypto to be in the conversation of what the future digital economy could look like and who is positioned to benefit from it as it continues to grow. Because crypto is still in its infancy, it’s even more important to consider it now as a potential vehicle for Black empowerment.”

Because of this, the Africa Digital Finance Summit has created a platform where the aforementioned thought leaders, policy makers and regulators can come together to deliberate on and shape the finance conversation in Africa.

The three day Summit which will take place from the 22^nd -24^th of February in Nairobi, Kenya will bring in key policy makers from across Africa among them Sierra Leone’s Hon. Mohamed Swaray- Minister for Information and Communication, Hon. Maureen Mbaka- Ministry of ICT-  Kenya, Hon. Anthony Bendulo- Director of Innovation, Science and Technology in Malawi, Hon. Ms. Mazamesso Assih- Minister for Financial Inclusion- Togo and Eng. Tarek Fathy Ibrahim-  Technology and Innovation Consultant for the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority.

On top of that, the summit will host keynote speakers from some of the most formidable organizations in the sectors of finance and technology around the world, among them JPMorgan, the African Development Bank, Audacity, Coronet Blockchain, StudEd Group, Flare Networks, Snowball and Grassroots Economic, just to mention a few.

The summit will ask and answer the hard questions, and identify the solutions required to steer a meaningful financial course in an age where entire societies are transforming very quickly.

It will also help place Africa in front of a global audience and invite them to a conversation that will place it as the continent where solutions in Digital Finance can and will be implemented successfully.  

This is a Summit for bold, visionary leaders who are willing to disrupt as much as they are willing to create, who know what to give up as much as what they expect to gain. This is a platform for people that seek to formulate ideas in digital economy that will supersede the existing loopholes in the socio-economic forum to put financial and economic freedom into the hands of people.

Register here: https://adfs.africa/ for the summit and join the conversation!