Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize companies and positively impact millions of lives in Africa by removing boundaries and obstacles. Several businesses and sectors are utilizing this technology to promote innovation, drive change, and improve efficiency. In this article, we will delve into the forefront of this trend.
According to a CV VC research, the following firms are embracing blockchain technology to change the narrative in Africa:
Fintech: Ivorypay
Ivorypay is an intriguing South African business that has developed a full suite of ecommerce, point-of-sale, and payment tools, enabling entrepreneurs across Africa and even internationally to enable their commercial activities using cryptocurrency. Blockchain has long been praised as the ideal payment rails for smooth business within and beyond borders, and Ivorypay makes this theory a reality by enabling automatic crypto-based subscription payments, QR payment solutions, crypto-enabled ecommerce checkouts, and more.
Ivorypay clients’ ability to use QR and mobile, wallet-based payments enables one of South Africa’s main economic sectors, informal commerce, by allowing them to make and receive payments for goods and services that do not need cash. Kucoin, Maplerad, Nyayomat, and MFS Africa (In Collaboration) are among the other top African Fintech firms using blockchain.
Energy: Momint
Momint is Africa’s largest NFT platform and a provider of tokenization solutions for real-world alternative asset classes. It has created a blockchain-based system that allows South African citizens to invest in and profit from alternative energy sources. Users can buy NFTs that reflect solar cell unit ownership and partake in the value-growth upside and income created by the solar cell.
This unique idea allows consumers to invest in renewable energy and contribute to sustainable development while potentially earning financial benefits. Sinan Energy and Sun Exchange are two others.
Healthcare: Afya Rekod
Afya Rekod is a Kenyan-based digital health platform that stores and verifies healthcare data using blockchain and AI technologies. It just launched its Dynamic EHR feature, which saves patients’ medical information at the point of service and employs sophisticated analysis to predict when they may be due for preventative health screenings and notifies them and their healthcare providers.
Education: Web3 Sanctuary
Web3 Sanctuary is at a critical juncture in its development, and it is at the vanguard of a new generation of edtech businesses. It focuses on Solidity, the smart contract programming language used in the EVM ecosystem, and provides a challenging yet entertaining training experience.
The objective is to place certified Solidity developers in jobs that are a good fit for their skillsets, personalities, and hobbies. Sanctuary assists individuals going into areas where they may apply blockchain principles to offer value and nurture social impact in a rising African market.
Government: Kenyan Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC)
The Independent Election and Boundary Commission (IEBC) is Kenya’s principal authority on election procedure formulation and administration. The IEBC proposed a new set of digitally-facilitated electoral processes for the 2022 Kenyan presidential elections, which were heavily influenced by blockchain organizational structures, notably the Bitcoin network and its consensus mechanisms.
KIEMS (Kenya Integrated Election Management Systems) kits were sent to over 46000 polling locations around the nation to capture and verify each registered voter’s biometrics against the identifying information on file for them. Manually signed votes and forms were used to verify an extra layer of trustless consensus. The IEBC made available on its website the data from each polling station, which could be independently verified by journalists, voters, and others.
Core blockchain infrastructure: Scroll.io
Scroll.io is an Ethereum native zkEVM Layer 2 scaling solution that supports any EVM-based smart contracts and infrastructure. It processes blockchain transactions and calculations using zero-knowledge (zk) cryptographic roll-up technology, lowering transaction costs and enhancing speed.
This enables customers to take use of low-cost and efficient payment systems, apps, or financial services. Forward Protocol is another. Blockchain technology has the ability to alter companies and millions of Africans’ lives by crossing borders and breaking down obstacles. It is one of Africa’s newest infrastructures, utilized by businesses and industries to innovate, change, and increase efficiency.
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