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.
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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