The African blockchain technology landscape is ripe for innovation and growth, however, the continent is yet to define a real strategy and approach to blockchain-based finance, hindering the technology’s immediate availability as a possible alternative to the traditional financial systems.
This according to Abiola Shogbeni, CEO and co-founder of Shiga Digital, a blockchain-based fintech company focused on pan-African access to digital financial solutions.
Shogbeni shared this insight with ITWeb Africa while discussing the fintech’s award of the Dubai International Financial Centre Innovation License, which is overseen by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
Received on Monday 04 August, the license positions Shiga Digital within one of the world's leading financial centres, offering access to an ecosystem of banks, asset managers, and financial service providers, while operating under a clear regulatory framework specifically designed for virtual assets and blockchain technology.
While Africa figures out the technology and identifies approaches to blockchain-based finance, Shogbeni says the Middle East, especially the UAE, is an innovative financial hub.
As such, it enables Shiga to build credibility as it redefines how pan-African businesses access and interact with modern financial services while unlocking the transformative potential of blockchain finance to empower Africa's economic growth.
“This license allows us to build and innovate with the support of the region while serving as a bridge between both regions for seamless trade and collaboration. As we focus on pan-Africa, such credibility and organisation ensure the business is built with the right foundation as we take the right steps to service our customers,” says Shogbeni.
According to Shogbeni, Shiga is focusing on future benefits, rather than short-term gains, but must address the need for more information and awareness of blockchain technology.
“For firms like ours, playing the long game is key and therefore we focus on building for scale and not building at scale -knocking key things off one by one and building tremendous relationships with market leaders. Another challenge is the lack of understanding of blockchain technology, which is why we are big on educating and explaining the terms and complexity of the technology.”
Additional to the firm’s long-term perspective, it launched an app for Android and iOS, targeting business and individuals, expanding accessibility via web and mobile.
This ensures that customers can send, receive, swap, and hold stablecoins despite their location, another step of building for scale, according Shogbeni.
Despite the stumbling blocks, he says the Africa markets are opening up to blockchain technology as a financial solution, with adoption increasing and regulatory bodies starting to make it easier for companies to grow, and increasingly clearer regulatory landscapes in countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana.
“Once that clarity is set, penetration for real-world use will be formalised outside of peer-to-peer trading in clusters. There is a significant requirement for blockchain-focused firms, fintechs, banks, and various other stakeholders to collaborate to build a robust and reliable infrastructure to ensure Africa is on a level playing field. The talent is here and the opportunity is available to redefine financial services for Africans,” he concluded.
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