📌 Emerging Onchain This Week #16
This week, we bring you African crypto updates & data from countries & regions including South Africa, MENA, Kenya, Nigeria and Francophone Africa
Welcome back crypto friend 👋.
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-Ripple announces partnership with Onafriq
Onafriq (fka MFS Africa) has partnered with Ripple to enable cross-border payments between Africa and markets including the Gulf Corporation Council, Australia and the UK. This comes following Ripple’s partnership with the Middle Eastern digital payments platform Pyypl. It is reported that much like Pyypl, Onafriq will use Ripple’s ODL (on-demand liquidity) solution.
-Kenya to launch digital IDs
Following its decree for Worldcoin to cease operations in the country and holding parliamentary hearings attended by Worldcoin execs, Kenya’s President Ruto shared plans to launch a digital identification system by this December.
The digital ID which is apparently currently in testing mode, will replace the existing Huduma Namba, Kenya’s previous digital ID system which was marred with issues and was apparently built on the blockchain. The plans for a digital ID system seem to have been in the works for a little while now and aim to minimise fraud risks.
-Jia hits $1mill
Jia an RWA project using crypto-originated funds to loan to small businesses in emerging markets, has originated over $1 million worth of loans. Offering up to $10,000 in financing to small businesses with tokens and rewards awards for repayments, Jia aims to create on-chain credit history for these businesses.
Founded by former Tala execs (Tala was one of the early success stories in the digital lending space in Africa), Jia announced its successful raise of $4.3 million earlier this year with notable crypto investors on their cap table.
-South Africa’s Old Mutual Wealth to provide liquidity for South African stablecoin
In partnership with Inves Capital, Old Mutual Wealth shared plans to inject ‘substantial’ liquidity into the ZARP network. ZARP is a stablecoin pegged to the South African Rand. Old Mutual has served as the project's treasurer since 2022 with independent auditors also guaranteeing that there are real rands ensuring the peg is maintained.
South Africa has taken significant positive steps when it comes to crypto such as the launch of licensing for crypto players and its financial sector regulator declaring crypto assets as financial products.
Product Launch
-Jambo launches new products
Following the launch of its app with a multichain wallet, the opportunity to win rewards for completing sponsored quests as part of ‘Jambo Earn’ and its own app marketplace, Jambo has also launched its own Launchpad. The Launchpad aims to leverage Jambo and JamboPhone users around the world to push new apps.
Jambo raised a large $7.5million round quickly followed by a $30million series A led by Paradigm.
-Onboard publicly launches virtual cards
Onboard’s virtual USD cards can be funded using stablecoins or NGN. Hailed as a significant step in the right direction for African crypto users, the card can also be used across 160+ countries. As part of the announcement, Onboard share it will also offer virtual card users a chance to win a share of a $10,000 prize pool.
Nestcoin’s key company, Onboard, was the key driver behind Nestcoin's successful $1.9M fundraise announced in September. Onboard was also the only African project selected to be part of Base’s Onchain Summer.
-Eversend launches money transfers from Europe to Africa
Eversend the multi-currency exchange and banking platform that supports numerous fiat and crypto currencies has launched a new product. Already operating across 8 African countries across East, West and Francophone Africa, the new functionality offers instant transfers. Eversend also advances that fees for this service will be capped at £/€3 max, significantly cheaper than the average 8.5% fees ($17 fees for $200) attached to remittances to Africa.
One of the breakout startups from Uganda, Eversend grew rapidly with the total value of transactions on the platform reaching $230mill in 2022. Eversend was also recently accepted into the inaugural cohort of Visa’s accelerator program.
With renewed growth in meme coins this data from BitKe data shows how African countries are partaking in this trend.
Here is a short list of some of the resources we are reading, listening to or watching to catch up on the emerging trends affecting the crypto:
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