…launches education drive, new
partnership to drive inclusion
Globally respected leading
peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, Paxful, is making inroads into Africa with
its trusted platform for bitcoin trading which has achieved widespread
acceptance in other parts of the world.
Paxful, which has over 2 million
users and facilitated the trading of almost 500,000 bitcoins in their platform
since its inception, believes that the success of its business model and
impressive track record provide a strong platform for achieving greater
financial inclusion in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
Paxful was launched in 2015 with
the goal of bringing more financial inclusion to the unbanked andunderbanked
populations through decentralized, peer-to-peer access of bitcoin. Since then,
the platform has gained popularity, particularly in African countries.
Paxful connects bitcoin buyers
and sellers on its platform, and users are able to buy and sell bitcoin using
over 300 different payment methods ranging from bank transfers, debit and
credit cards, and cash payments. According to the World Bank, nearly two
billion people in the world have little or no access to traditional financial
services. In Africa, the statistics are ever grimmer: an overwhelming
percentage of adults on the continent are underbanked.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous
country and largest economy, reflects this trend. The World Bank has estimated
the number of unbanked Nigerian adults at about 100 million. According to The
Global Findex Database 2017, only 40% of Nigerian adults have an account with a
financial institution or a mobile money provider. READ ALSO: Firstbank
leverages digitization to promote financial inclusion Paxful sees this as an
opportunity to grow its business and reduce this huge gap which has very
negative implications for the development of African nations.
The marketplace has seen
significant growth in digital currency transactions on the African continent in
recent years, with the surge largely spearheaded by students and graduates
under 25. “Africa leap-frogged to the forefront of peer-to-peer finance
adaptation. In 2018, our user base in Africa doubled, with most customers being
between 18 and 24,” said Artur Schaback, COO and co-founder of Paxful.
To increase access to the bitcoin
economy for many more youths on the African continent, Paxful is launching a
series of educational workshops across Africa in 2019. This education
initiative kicked off in South Africa and Kenya in May, with Nigeria and Ghana
in the cards for later in the year. The workshops will cover the very basics
about bitcoin for novices and also further expand on innovative use cases and
business applications observed around the world for more experienced attendees.
“As a values-driven company, we
want to make the bitcoin economy accessible for everyone, especially the
underbanked. To this end, we would like to reach as many young people as
possible to help them understand the digital currency market and transact
safely and with confidence. Our aim is to continue to partner with customers
and other key stakeholders to ensure they are well informed about the
opportunities presented by peer-to-peer finance,” stated Ray Youssef, CEO, and
co-founder of Paxful.
This latest initiative forms part
of Paxful’s proven commitment to education, which includes building two schools
in East Africa under their #BuiltWithBitcoin charitable initiative, as well as
providing scholarships to young women in the Middle East and gave donations to
the GROW with Educare Centres project in South Africa. The company aims to
build 100 schools across developing countries and expand its scholarship
programs
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