Author: Staff

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Business

Coca-Cola Partners with Rich Mnisi to Launch A Pride Series NFT Collection on Polygon Network

Popular South African artist and fashion designer, Rich Mnisi, is partnering with a beverage company, Coca-Cola to launch a Pride series NFT collection.

Coca-Cola said that it is introducing the Pride series NFT collection as part of its intentions to celebrate with the LGBTQIA+ community. Each NFT in the collection comprises a different piece from one of the 136 NFT collectibles. Its goal of launching this series is to provide members of the LGBTQIA+ community with colorful light, spreading the message of love everywhere.

Coca-Cola explains that it chose Mnisi because his works push the limits of community and identity. The team adds that Mnisi got the inspiration for his pride collection from the un-destroyable nature of energy.

According to Mnisi, energy can alter or transfer forms. It can be locked up or unlocked by anyone. Like energy, love can take on several forms yet never lose its existence. Heartache, trust, passion, and darkness can all be new forms of love. These expressions show how love evolves and endures. They serve as a reminder that each person has the ability to choose the type of love they want to express. 

Mnisi further adds, “We display love whichever way we define it. But let’s all love one another freely.”

Coca-cola also announced that 136 NFTs will be released in the Pride series NFT collection. Also, they will all be minted on the Polygon (MATIC) network. Already, there are some of these NFTs on the Open Sea NFT marketplace. Coca-Cola has set the floor price for these NFTs at 1 ETH.

Coca-Cola also hopes that the introduction of the NFT series will increase the visibility of the LGBTQIA+ colors. Consequently, the world’s understanding of its message of love will grow. Coca-Cola also declared that it will give the local charities all of the proceeds from the initial sale of the NFTs. In the first year after the NFT series debuts, all sales earnings will go to the LGBTQIA+ charity, OUT.

Rich Mnisi specifically chose the South Africa-based charity firm OUT which provides mental and physical healthcare. Besides being the second-oldest charity in South Africa, OUT is also one of the charities that serve the LGBTQIA+ community.

Givenchy Parfums, a French luxury perfume, and cosmetic firm are also towing the steps of Coca-Cola. It is launching an NFT collection that benefits Paris-based LGBTQIA+ firm, Le Mag Jeunes.

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Technology

01Talent Africa and Atos launch their first Collective Intelligence Zone that offers youth digital training in Senegal

01Talent Africa, in partnership with Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, will launch Zone01 in Africa. The collective intelligence center is being set up in Dakar, Senegal, and will offer a brand-new kind of digital training to as many people as possible. The center will welcome several hundred young talents from Senegal at the Atos offices in Cité Keur Gorgui in Dakar.

This project is a part of a bigger strategic partnership that intends to speed up the digital transformation of Africa by enabling the widespread adoption of top-notch digital skills on the continent through creative, all-inclusive training programs.

01 Talent Africa and Atos commit to creating the collective force that will accelerate Africa’s digital transformation by reducing the digital divide while anchoring African local authorities and actors across the continent in the digital world. The partnership is relying on the power of peer-to-peer digital education and the extraordinary potential of African youth.

“With an average age of 19, Africa is the youngest continent in the world and will represent 40% of the world’s population by the end of the century. By working with 01Talent in Africa, we are giving these young people the opportunity to unleash their creative potential to contribute to the innovation and digital transformation of the continent,” said Alpha Barry, Head of Atos in Africa.

“We are very pleased to materialize this partnership with Atos with the opening of this first Zone01 in Senegal. This strategic initiative confirms the commitment of 01Talent and Atos to the creation of an African technology ecosystem strengthened by the training of world-class talent, essential to the accomplishment of the continent’s digital transition. This is a huge opportunity to create jobs for young people and value for local businesses. Everyone becomes an actor of change,” said Karim Sy, Strategic Director of 01Talent Africa.

With the growing global shortage of qualified skills in digital professions, the launch of Zone01 in Dakar within Atos’ premises responds to one of the main challenges of the digitalization of Senegalese territories and businesses which is access to new agile, autonomous, and collaborative talent.

The inauguration is scheduled for September 2022 at Atos’ premises in Cité Keur Gorgui in Dakar. An ambitious talent identification campaign started in June. Candidates wishing to take the online selection tests can register on the Zone01 Dakar website. They must be at least 18 years old to register. If they are selected, they will be able to participate in one of the three “pools” scheduled for early September, early October, and early November. The “pool” is the final step in the selection process. During this stage, candidates will be immersed for 4 weeks into 01Edu pedagogy, which is based on peer-to-peer learning and group project solving, without any class or teacher.

After Dakar, Atos and 01Talent will expand their partnership with the opening of new Zone01 notably to Egypt, Morocco, and Mauritania.

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Business

WorldRemit ceases money remittance business in Uganda

The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has announced the closure of WorldRemit in Uganda. The company was most known for money international transfers and payments.

This was announced in a press statement today issued by the Bank of Uganda that read:

“Pursuant to regulation 19 (3) of the Foreign Exchange (Forex Bureaus and Money Remittance) Regulations, 2006, the Bank of Uganda hereby informs the public that World Remit Money Transfer (U) Limited voluntarily ceased to carry on money remittance business.”

“The public is notified that the closure of World Remit Money Transfer (U) Limited as a company will not affect WorldRemit money remittance product offered by several supervised financial institutions in Uganda,” The statement adds.


The closure comes after WorldRemit announced in May that it was blocking money transfers in Uganda. This happened after Uganda was listed among the top 25 countries on the “Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing” high-risk list for 2022 and Sydney Asubo, Executive Director of the Finance Intelligence Authority, asserted that Uganda risked being banned by the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) if the Government does not combat money laundering.

This has left some Ugandans warily looking for other quick solutions for securing their money such as cryptocurrencies.

However, the Central Bank has also emphasized that customers who still have funds on the platform should submit their claims with evidence.

“Customers with outstanding claims for monies given to WorldRemit Money Transfer (U) Limited for remittance purposes should submit the claims with evidence to the Director of Non-bank Financial Institutions Department at Bank of Uganda by July 18th, 2022.” 

The public has been given the assurance by the Bank of Uganda that it will continue to protect the integrity and stability of Uganda’s financial system.

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Business

British Army’s YouTube And Twitter Accounts Hacked and Flooded With Crypto Posts

The British Army announced yesterday afternoon that it had launched an investigation into the hacking of its Twitter and YouTube accounts. After the accounts were hacked, they were used to post information about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrency.

The official British Army Twitter account retweeted articles promoting NFTs and videos on cryptocurrencies featuring Tesla CEO, Elon Musk had been posted on the army’s YouTube channel.

At one point, the account name was changed to Bapesclan and the profile picture to an ape-like cartoon figure in clownish make-up.

A spokesperson told The Guardian that the British Army takes information security extremely seriously and is resolving the issue. 

The army also added that it shall not offer any further comment until it wraps up the investigation into the breach.

Later in the evening, both accounts were restored to normal as well as their normal content.

A tweet was posted afterwards that read: “Apologies for the temporary interruption to our feed. We will conduct a full investigation and learn from this incident. Thanks for following us and normal service will now resume.”

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Business

Kuwait’s Warba Bank Enters the Metaverse Leveraging Decentraland and Sandbox

The Islamic bank Warba located in Kuwait will launch two sites in the metaverse, one each in Decentraland and the Sandbox. The bank is the most recent financial institution to launch in the metaverse. Warba is the first Islamic bank globally to enter the metaverse.

The move is intended to ramp up the bank’s communication with the younger and millennial generations.

“Warba Bank’s interest in entering this virtual reality comes within the framework of digital trends to transform into a Web3. The world of virtual reality is used in several advanced fields, including services, education, health and others,” said Anwar Bader Al-Ghaith, Warba Bank’s VP.

Warba Bank aspires to enhance its reputation as a leader in digital transformation. The bank also desires strong client collaboration as it launches its virtual reality offerings. It is now trying to both improve the advantages of digital services and fulfill its lofty goals, according to a statement issued by the bank.

Al-Ghaith declared that Warba Bank is eager to be a trendsetter in this virtual reality, supporting young customers from the Bloom bracket as well as the rest of its clientele. The bank envisions communicating with them and meeting all of their banking needs, in addition to offering all the new products and services launched by the bank.

Additionally, Warba Bank is working hard to implement the newest technology and improved digital services as quickly as possible in order to meet its objectives. The bank also wants access to artificial intelligence, which will enable it to use programs at any time and from any location.

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Business

The Central African Republic’s Sango cryptocurrency hub goes live

The Central African Republic (CAR), which made Bitcoin legal tender in April, has finally launched the Sango crypto hub initiative to support the growth of the local digital asset sector.

The project intends to attract firms, crypto enthusiasts, and talent from around the world, increase local BTC usage, and manage the deployment of infrastructure and legal frameworks for crypto. On the site, Sango Coin and a Metaverse platform called “The Crypto Island” are also under development.

President Faustin-Archange Touadera defined Sango’s objective as having a “common cryptocurrency and an integrated capital market that could stimulate commerce and sustain growth.”

Financial inclusion and the significance of enabling citizens to quickly access cryptocurrencies via a smartphone were the two of the main issues President Touadera stressed. He also made analogies to the underutilized and highly restrictive banking industry in CAR.

“The citizens will gain at every level, they will live in a country in full economic development, which means employment and prosperity. Moreover, they will benefit from virtual transactions which, in contrast to traditional banking, have the advantage of rapid access, fast execution, lack of bureaucracy, and low cost,” he said.

“This technology will give an identity to the continent by reducing cost. This vision is perfect, and we do not have the time to wait. For us, a formal economy is no longer an option,” he added.

The World Bank announced in May that it will not be supporting Sango due to worries about transparency and “possible ramifications for financial inclusion,” despite the CAR president’s enthusiasm for the project.

Sango is supported by the National Assembly of the CAR and is generally supported by President Touadera. Despite the lack of many details, the project’s main goal will be to tokenize the nation’s abundant natural resources in order to increase investment access to them.

The identity of citizens and asset ownership will likewise be tokenized as an NFT. Additionally, Crypto Island will be essential to the development of this ecosystem and provide access to tokenized assets for authenticated users.

A local wallet designed for Bitcoin and the lighting network will also emerge as a result of the increased Bitcoin support.

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Business

Despite CBN ban, 33.4 million Nigerians still trade crypto – KuCoin Report says

According to a KuCoin research, 33.4 million Nigerians trade or hold cryptocurrency assets, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ban on such transactions.

The crypto exchange with over 10 million registered users stated that the crypto community is mostly made up of people between the ages of 18 and 60 in its research, “Into The Cryptoverse: Decoding The World Of Crypto Consumers.”

It said, “According to Google Trends, Nigeria was recorded as the country with the highest number of bitcoin searches globally in early 2021, signaling the growing utility of cryptocurrency in the country. According to our survey that was conducted in early 2022, 33.4 million Nigerians, which accounts for 35 percent of the population aged 18 to 60, currently own or have traded cryptocurrencies over the past months. 

“70 percent of these crypto investors claim that they will likely increase their cryptocurrency assets soon. Another 6% of the country’s population are interested in investing in cryptocurrency in the coming 6 months, suggesting that the cryptocurrency adoption rate might continue to increase,” The report added.

The data also pointed out that the country’s youth have been the decisive force behind the surge in bitcoin searches and that the depreciation of the naira over the last six years has been fuelled by the increase in the number of crypto users in the nation.

Even with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s restrictions on crypto, Nigeria ranks as the sixth leading country in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption according to chainalysis.

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Business

Boom, an e-commerce platform that uses cryptocurrency, launches in Nigeria

Boom, an e-commerce platform recently officially launched in Nigeria. The platform, which is the first of its kind will enable users to transact using a cryptocurrency called Multicoin.

The new e-commerce platform’s owners described it as a digital ecosystem with many sectors, including a Boom Marketplace where customers can find goods and services from vendors, a Boom Wallet for payments, and Boom Messaging for communication.

Peter Adekeye, the founder, stated during the launch that customers would need to top up their Boom wallets with Multicoins in order to make purchases. Merchants who accept Multicoin payments would then be able to instantly convert those funds into Euros, their home currencies, and very soon Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).

He continued by saying that it has a built-in safe wallet that makes it easier to transfer and receive Multicoins and that there are zero fees for all transactions.

He further added that the Multicoin is an ERC-20 token that is stored on the Ethereum network. It is therefore protected by Ethereum’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm.

Inorder to transact, one has to simply add Multicoins into one’s Boom wallet in order to start shopping. Multicoins may be bought with cash over the counter from authorized Multicoin resellers all around the world.

The platform will be accessible on Play Store and Apple Store in the upcoming weeks. Any user can download Boom and register (KYC) with just the necessary requirements. Adekeye explained that this is being done to ensure adherence to EU standards and to get rid of spam, scams, and online abuse.

“Get KYC, everybody is verified therefore there’s no anonymity. We get to know everybody to avoid spam. Once we get the KYC, you essentially go on and create a virtual profile,” he concluded.

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Business

First Ever Blockchain DevFest Launched in Uganda

Uganda is home to a growing cryptocurrency community. Today, Kampala hosted the first-ever Blockchain DevFest which was sponsored by  Block Bunch, a community of developers, in partnership with Yellow card, Celo, Muda, Nile One Academy, Binusu, MoTIV, and The Innovation Village. The event which attracted a number of local and international blockchain enterprises and enthusiasts was aimed at finding blockchain solutions for Uganda and Africa and understanding ways we can work towards adopting blockchain technologies.

Blockchain technology has gained global attention because it has built trust into systems used for the transfer of money and any kind of data. Additionally, we are seeing many other solutions being invented via blockchain such as Crypto Savannah’s recent refugee digital identity solution. With such significant adoption and growth, Block Bunch hosted a few industry experts to enlighten crypto and blockchain enthusiasts on how they can utilize blockchain.

Speaking at the event, Umar Sebyala, Ecosystem leader for Uganda at Celo emphasized the importance of bigger crypto brands enabling crypto and blockchain adoption in Africa. He highlighted that this may be one of the notable ways of encouraging people to adopt and understand blockchain.

“It is important for bigger brands to support developing economies in adopting blockchain because this boosts blockchain awareness,” Umar said.

Despite a growing cryptocurrency and blockchain presence in the country, local regulators have not warmed up to the idea. The Central Bank has in the past warned against the use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin citing the lack of consumer protections and a proper regulatory framework to govern their use. The Central Bank also warned investors about investing in MLM schemes which are quite pervasive in Uganda. The Central Bank also recently issued a circular to all payments licensees to desist from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions. 

Commenting on this, Abel Namureba, the Head of Operations for Yellow Card in Uganda said, 

“Crypto firms now feel noticed, they are climbing a ladder to the destination up. However, at the moment the Central Bank’s biggest worry is money laundering, and we are trying to encourage them to adopt blockchain to solve such challenges. Crypto and blockchain are still benefiting a good number of Ugandans, and I am optimistic that we are on the right track to the future of finance. I believe that crypto firms are here for a lifetime.”

However, while the Bank of Uganda’s position on cryptocurrencies remains unchanged, we are seeing a good number of startups that are harnessing blockchain technology and cryptocurrency adoptionfor example Binusu and Muda, Ugandan crypto exchange platforms that are serving the growing market.

When asked about how we can boost the adoption of blockchain in Uganda, the Founder of Binusu, Brian Tweheyo remarks that Uganda is on the right track.

“We have over 800,000 registered blockchain accounts in Uganda. This proves that the market in Uganda is growing at a promising rate.” Brian said.

However, he points out that crypto education is crucial.

“We need to educate people about cryptocurrency and blockchain so that more people can adopt them. We need to spread more information so that people know more about blockchain and how it can support us in enhancing different sectors.” Brian added.

While blockchain is a great tech resource, Davin Oyesigye, Blockchain Dev Lead at Muda emphasizes that the industry needs more skilled developers, especially in Uganda since there are many technological advancements because of Web 3.

Conclusively, warnings from regulators against the use of cryptocurrencies have not slowed down Ugandans’ appetite for digital assets. With high unemployment rates witnessed among the youth in the country, many Ugandans are turning to digital assets for investment and trading.

It is therefore not surprising that we are seeing more local blockchain startups emerging.  Clearly, there is hope for the future of blockchain in Uganda.

Categories
Social Good

Crypto Savannah partners with CoinBase and Mercy Corps to launch refugee digital identities and a cash project

Ugandan crypto firm, CryptoSavannah has partnered with Coinbase and Mercy Corps to deliver Blockchain-powered solutions that foster economic empowerment and financial inclusion to refugees and host communities in Uganda.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) data, as of May 2022, Uganda hosts over 1,531,593 refugees and they are faced with critical challenges such as their inability to obtain suitable and affordable financial services because of the slow and ineffective identity systems in host countries.  They are required to present approved identity documents before a SIM card or mobile money service can be activated by a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) in Uganda. Because of the delay in identity verification between MNOs and humanitarian organizations, refugees have difficulty accessing aid disbursements, registration for education, employment, and medical and financial services. 

The goal of this project, therefore, is to address such issues by enabling refugees to access financial services with digitized identities. The digital ID solution will allow refugees access to cash transfers which will help cover the costs of food, accommodation, medicine, and school fees, help them rebuild their lives while offering flexibility and freedom in how to spend their money, and most importantly, will support their families.

“Our solution aims to digitize the already existing refugee identities through our blockchain platform which will act as an attestation layer to the databases of the Refugee identity issuers,” states CryptoSavannah on its website.

Additionally, the project helps in stimulating local market actors like small businesses.

This project will be rolled out in a two-phased pilot approach that will reach approximately 35,000 people.

Pilot 1: Digital ID powered by Blockchain

A Digital ID platform that is powered by blockchain will be built to verify identity and facilitate digital transactions. Participants’ digital identities will be created when they key in a registration code via USSD that is used to acquire a unique immutable identifier. This identity will be authenticated and encrypted with a password and recorded on a distributed ledger for more secure management and storage of digital IDs by providing unified, interoperable, and tamper-proof infrastructure. As the ledger is publicly accessible, each participant will be able to use their digital credentials in many locations, helping them to integrate into the wider community.

This pilot will enable refugees to prove their identities and enable their inclusion in the financial, economic, and digital sectors.

Pilot 2:  Crypto transfers to a blockchain-built mobile wallet

Leveraging the digital identities created in the first pilot, each participant will establish a digital wallet that can be used to receive, store, and spend funds. This wallet will serve as a foundational component to help refugees build their financial profile and literacy of new products and services. Crypto-based transfers will be distributed to mobile wallets and all transactions will be recorded on an immutable blockchain which will increase transparency and security.

Participants are registered for recurring crypto transfers as per existing program guidelines. Instead of receiving fiat money, a prepaid card, voucher, or other forms of payment, the participants receive a top-up deposited directly to their crypto wallet. The funds can be redeemed for fiat money at select cash-out points or used directly at participating stores within the local community — benefiting refugees and host community businesses.

Participants can also save some funds in their interest by accruing mobile wallets, giving them access to extended financial services. Another potential benefit would be to keep the funds in a foreign-denominated stablecoin, which would offer an inflationary hedge in countries with volatile currencies.

A specific benefit to using blockchain, in this case, would be traceability. Recording all transactions on an interoperable ledger would increase transparency and accountability for aid organizations and donors, ensuring that funding is used according to program design.

This pilot will revolutionize cash transfer programs for aid organizations globally, shifting from traditional payment modalities to crypto.