Troy: Can you introduce yourself to everyone and explain how you became interested in Nano?

Fabián: Hi everyone, my name is Fabián, I go by the name Bill on discord, and I’m currently leading the Venezuela project run by The Nano Center. Our goal is to both promote adoption as well as to educate the locals on how they can benefit from transacting with Nano. I’ve been a Nano enthusiast since December when I began to dig into how it works and its potential in developing countries, thanks to its instant and feeless transactions. The idea of transacting without fees was the main selling point for me. People should realize that even low transactions fees, such as those in other cryptocurrencies, are significant in developing countries and Nano solves that problem.

Tell us a little about how things are in Venezuela right now and why you decided to start this project?

In Venezuela there is currently a hyperinflationary economy, the national currency — bolívares — becomes devalued in a matter of days. It’s difficult to get cash, most times banks won’t even have any, and credit card systems often collapse due to the amount of people paying for goods. I decided to start this project because I believe Nano can actually solve these problems and I can see the long-term potential. Our organization will be focused on building a durable ecosystem for Nano, we want to market Nano as an alternative payment system where people can transact without waiting for the payments to settle.

What progress has the project made so far?

We have partnered with a marketing agency, Salvatori Agencies, as well as a number of accountants and lawyers to make this possible. Once our website is ready, it’s about 60% done, we will start hosting meetups where entrepreneurs, organizations and local businesses can learn the benefits of using Nano. We have marketing pieces ready and are in the process contacting other organizations to collaborate. Long term, it is important we build a durable ecosystem for Nano and that starts with a lot of groundwork. We know it will be challenging, but believe that the groundbreaking technology offered by Nano makes it a cause worth pursuing.

How can the community assist your efforts and get involved?

From the beginning, this project is possible because of the community. They helped this project get funded and we really appreciate all the enthusiasm that has been shown. This is a community effort to make Nano a global currency, and we are starting in a country that has problems Nano can solve. Other projects, such as the Nano SMS project, can be a key factor in increasing adoption in areas like Venezuela. I’d like to thank others who are already working on projects here, such as adopt a family, and hope to collaborate more with the leaders. The Nano community wants reassurance about funds coming into Venezuela and we are looking to work with people who can help us remove any doubts regarding the funding. Want to get involved? You can always find me on discord — on The Nano Center and NanoTrade servers — for more details or to contribute to the project.

A big thanks to user NewWestDad for supplying the graphic this week. To submit artwork for future episodes or articles, reach us at marketing@nano.org.