The Southern African nation of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland recently became the latest African country to signal its intention to issue a digital currency, after it was revealed that the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) has appointed a German-based firm called Giesecke Devrient as its technology partner.
According to a statement issued by the technology firm, an agreement to this effect was signed at the recent annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group.
The Central Bank of Eswatini stated, “With this agreement, the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) and G+D envisage advancing CBDC research efforts to gain an in-depth understanding of the practicalities of implementing a CBDC in Eswatini. CBE joins other Central Banks and regulators around the world who are exploring the potential of CBDCs to address challenges such as payment efficiency, interoperability, financial inclusion, and payment system resilience.”
The CBE Governor, Dr. Phil Mnisi further stated, “The Central Bank of Eswatini is delighted to have engaged G+D as a technical consultant to walk with us in our journey as we explore and formulate the foundational policy considerations and use cases of a localized CBDC. We are confident that G+D’s technological expertise and their strong regional presence in our continent will allow us to realize all possible advantages of a Digital Lilangeni and ensure we’re fully equipped to issue a CBDC in the future.”
Dr, Wolfram Seidemann, the CEO of Giesecke Devrient, also suggested that Eswatini was one of the countries on the African continent to take the step towards a retail CBDC.
Dr. Wolfram Seidemann emphasized, “The Central Bank of Eswatini and G+D have a long history of trusted collaboration that goes back more than 40 years into the early 80s. We are proud to extend this partnership from providing physical currency solutions to research and exploring digital currency services in the future.”
He added, “The Kingdom of Eswatini is among the first African countries to take the step towards a retail CBDC and we are honored to support this journey towards digital public currency with our expertise.”
Seidemann, whose firm has also partnered with the Ghanaian central bank, added that his company was honored to be a part of Eswatini’s CBDC journey.
Because it aims to get rid of the issues with fiat currency systems, the CBE is eager to implement a CBDC, much like its counterparts in certain African nations.
While several African countries that are keen on launching a CBDC are either studying or conducting trials, the Nigerian central bank is the only institution in Africa to have launched a digital currency.