Emmanuel Babalola, Africa’s Director at Binance, unveiled plans to make cryptocurrency a mainstream product on the continent. Although the context is quite complex with people's mistrust of crypto, the 27-year-old manager seems determined to achieve his goal.

The former MD of Binance Nigeria, who became head of the company's African division in 2021, plans to increase awareness campaigns and training on the usefulness of virtual currencies. He has already contributed to several education initiatives, including Binance Academy and Binance Masterclass. These programs aim to teach Africans the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies, as well as how to identify scams and seize real opportunities.

“Our top priority is user safety, and therefore we kicked off our education initiative – to teach crypto fundamentals, explain everyday use cases and ensure users know how to avoid scams. We also kicked off a campaign called My Crypto Life, an initiative that spotlights incredible crypto stories from people around the world, showing how crypto can be used by everyday people,” Emmanuel Babalola said.

In Africa, the volume traded by African users on the Binance platform has increased by 589%, the manager claimed. He sees this promising figure as a way to convince skeptics, who are concerned about fraud, capital flight, and environmental damage associated with bitcoin.

The Binance Masterclass estimates that more than 350,000 Africans have benefited from educational resources by 2021. Emmanuel Babalola says Binance is creating the educational infrastructure that Africans need to be financially free and informed. To attract more users, the global digital asset platform is stepping up efforts on the continent, officially becoming a sponsor of the 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations.

Since 2020, Binance's various programs have benefited more than 541,000 Africans. The new partnership with AfCON, which is one of the most publicized events on the continent, offers an opportunity for Emmanuel Babalola to reach 160 countries and an audience of nearly 300 million people. “Greater blockchain adoption is opening the gateway to more opportunities for many businesses to develop even more blockchain-based applications and create more job opportunities,” he said.

Aïsha Moyouzame

Tunisia features among the top five African countries well prepared for e-governance, according to the UN e-government survey 2020. Although this position may reflect great efforts by the government, challenges remain.

Since 2020, Ahmed Zoghlami has been trying to make administrative procedures a lot easier for the population. He became a reference in administrative guidance in Tunisia with his startup Idaraty.tn. He provides users with help for more than 1,800 procedures in nearly 3,500 public administrations. The idea occurred to him during the pandemic when he noted that travelers coming to the country struggled to get the right information.

"We have listed the necessary papers to be presented at the airport, on the portal. Something, which the National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases has not managed to communicate properly ... The specific information we provided on the portal interested 10,000 users. A record score, which revealed to us that we should develop this segment that is very useful for the users,” Ahmed Zoghlami says.

Holder of a basic degree in computer science, obtained at the University of Carthage in 2013, Ahmed Zoghlami launched Idaraty with about a decade of professional experience in communication, content management, and digital technologies. A few months after its launch, Idaraty.tn was quickly adopted by the population. Today, nearly 350,000 visitors have already been assisted by the portal, which even translates the various administrative procedures offered in local dialects. Ahmed Zoghlami says his value-added service also contributes to the digital transformation in the country.

Idaraty.tn also provides information on several other services such as Covid-19 screening and the special health measures required for the return of Tunisians living abroad. It integrates a calendar for different fiscal and social events that affect individuals and legal entities, including the dates of payment of tax stickers and tax returns for individuals and legal entities, religious holidays, public holidays, etc.

Aïsha Moyouzame