By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
It is no news that some African countries are already warming up to cryptocurrency adoption, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). However, the Vice President of West African country, Ghana wants the continent to do more in terms of adopting digital currency. As such, he called for a ‘single central payment’ framework that will facilitate trade relations between African countries.
Vice President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia made these comments at the Fifth Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference, titled “Facilitating Trade and Trade-Finance in AfCFTA; The Role of the Financial Services Sector.” He further stated that a digital payments framework would address existing issues such as the difficulty in transporting goods from one country. He admitted that transporting goods via African borders is expensive and time-consuming. Hence, the need for a digital payments infrastructure.
Bawumia Says Digitization will Solve Trade Challenges in Africa
Bawumia noted that digitization was a haven for all these issues. Accordingly, policies of Ghana’s current administration have been streamlined in that regard. The VP touched on the devastating aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, which according to him, stressed the importance of digitization.
Bawumia recalled efforts by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to release a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is still under development. VP Bawumia believes that a CBDC will stamp the country’s name in the digital currency space. He did not make any comments on the timeline or name of the CBDC the BoG is working on.
Other African Countries Embrace Cryptocurrency Adoption
Meanwhile, Ghana is not the only African country open to cryptocurrencies or digital assets. Nigeria, another West African will begin a pilot program for its CBDC, titled ‘GIANT, by the end of the year. Despite this, Nigeria’s central bank remains unfavorably disposed to cryptocurrencies, which instigated a ban on crypto transactions via bank accounts back in March.
The CBN directed banks across the country to withdraw its services from exchanges. It had however announced in April that the decision had been reversed. In wake of the ban, Nigeria resorted to P2P (Peer-to-Peer) transactions.
Two East African countries, Kenya and Tanzania are also embracing cryptocurrency adoption. On Kenya’s part, it released a cryptocurrency called Sarafu, which has garnered common usage among farmers in the country. Tanzania, on the other hand, reversed its 2019 cryptocurrency ban following an order from its president, Samia Suluhu Hassan to the country’s central bank to develop a framework for the cryptocurrency adoption.
Earlier this year, the Ethiopian government collaborated with Charles Hoskinson’s Cardano to release a teacher-student identification and grading system.
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