By Ben Onuoha | ConsenSys Community Lead, Africa

One of the great advantages that Africa maintains over other continents in riding blockchain’s wave of disruption is that there are far fewer legacy systems to get in the way. Africa has a clean slate to develop highly evolved business models and a robust technological infrastructure. As a developing region, Africa can use blockchain to leapfrog antiquated systems, the same way it skipped over cumbersome, expensive landlines and moved straight to mobile phones.

I won’t go into detail defining blockchain, as many of my colleagues have already and eloquently done so: ConsenSys Academy’s Blockchain Basics is an excellent introduction for non-developers, and in his “18 Blockchain Predictions for 2018,” Andrew Keys lays out a big vision for the future of blockchain.

Blockchain technologies can create an economy that isn’t only about goods and services but that is also more open, inclusive, fair, and secure. This opportunity is particularly relevant for Africa, where a large portion of the population is unbanked: 350 million of the world’s unbanked population currently live in Sub-Saharan Africa according to the World Bank Group. A huge number of Africans are excluded from the global economy because they can’t open a bank account, don’t have a birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, utility bill, or because they just don’t have enough funds. Many African countries also have very weak and unreliable currencies. The current vacuum for alternative means of payment in Africa is obvious. Blockchain technology can help us keep accurate and comprehensive records of public expenditure, which are essential for tackling corruption and waste. By implementing blockchain’s tamper-proof record of transactions in both the public and private sectors, we could combat fraud and corruption across the region.

There are many other ways in which blockchain can help Africa accelerate into the future. Blockchain-based solutions hold promise in capital markets, trade finance, regulatory compliance and audit, government services (record management, identity management, voting, tax collection), financial management for corporations, and even for solving the current water supply crisis in Cape Town.

The Emerging Blockchain Movement in Africa

According to multiple sources, African countries had the highest number of online searches for “blockchain” and “bitcoin” last year, with Ghana and South Africa taking the lead. Africa is the world’s second fastest growing economic region behind South Asia and is expected to continue growing in 2018 (AFDB). Smartphone penetration is also on the rise and estimated to hit 50% by 2020, up from only 2% in 2010 (WEF). Africa is an early adopter rather than a follower and poised to embrace the blockchain.

Source: ITU

Across the globe, ConsenSys is hosting, sponsoring, and getting involved in all things blockchain to bring community members together. Since joining ConsenSys in late 2017, I have worked with awesome volunteers in the tech ecosystem in Africa and colleagues to organize two Ethereum meetups, the first in Johannesburg, and the second in Lagos. These meetups helped introduce policy makers, bankers, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts to the promise of the blockchain. We had presentations from industry leaders, robust discussions, and Q&A sessions. The excitement was palpable!

Going forward, we will be diving deeper into blockchain use cases with our local African context in mind. I see March 2018 as “Blockchain Month in Africa.” March 2018 is the first month where ConsenSys, or any other leading global tech company, is planning to host, sponsor, and participate in the most events in one month in Africa. That’s a first and a major feat by a prominent US tech company. In their early stages, most major tech companies do not normally focus on this region. But ConsenSys is committed to building a diverse and inclusive global infrastructure, which is one of the reasons why I love working here.

Firstly, we will be hosting Ethereum Meetups in Johannesburg and Cape Town with my wonderful colleagues and friends — Andrew Keys, Peter Munnings, Monica Singer, Pelle Braendgaard, and Eseoghene Mentie. Andrew will be speaking on how the blockchain will disrupt everything. I’m particularly excited because we will be exploring global trends that will influence how value is created and distributed. In Andrew’s words, “What if we told you that the blockchain will disrupt everything? The important word here is everything. We’re in the equivalent of the 90’s where the Internet exploded by 1996. We’re witnessing the birth of the next generation of the database and thus the next generation of the Internet!” Our panelists will dissect what this means specifically for Africa.

We’re also sponsoring the Blockchain Africa Conference, where we hope to drive the notion of blockchain disruption deeper. For The Network Forum Africa Meeting, we’re participating in a key gathering point for capital market leaders from an asset management and servicing, investment banking, and custody background. The Network Forum will represent the network managers of all the global and local custodians that invest and manage clients’ funds into Africa. This is the first time that it is being held in Africa, and ConsenSys is excited to be a part of it. It will be a great platform for ConsenSys to create awareness about blockchain for financial markets in Africa.

After The Network Forum, we plan on heading north to Lagos, Abuja, and Nairobi to keep evangelizing about blockchain disruption, use cases, and exploring the blockchain’s implications for Africa. So there you go. Seven events in one month. Yes, you heard right! Seven! So, if you’re in any of these cities, please look out for further details, join us and help us spread the word!

In the future, we’ll be hosting more and more meetups, for both technical and non-technical audiences. We want to explore various tech and non-tech blockchain topics and use cases together with our communities. Our meetups will be short and focused enlightenment sessions that should culminate in hackathons, where attendees get together in teams to put their learnings from the meetups into practice. Meetups are therefore not a once-off affair. We encourage attendees to come regularly. We’re in this for the long run to see great solutions come out from these meetups––by the people, for the people, and in a bottom-up approach. Again, this is a bold statement of ConsenSys’ commitment to diversity and inclusion in the blockchain space.

In subsequent posts, I’ll share my unique experiences and perspectives from these meetups, hackathons, and the other events we support, and what they mean to me, both from a tech and non-tech perspective. We will also be following some of our community members — both ConsenSys and non-ConsenSys, tech and non-tech — on their journeys, learnings, and growth as they venture into the blockchain future.

Here’s a rundown of our upcoming events:

Want to learn more? Check out ConsenSys.net and the ConsenSys Media blog.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author above do not necessarily represent the views of Consensys AG. ConsenSys is a decentralized community with ConsenSys Media being a platform for members to freely express their diverse ideas and perspectives. To learn more about ConsenSys and Ethereum, please visit our website.