Kenya is one of the countries in Africa that is most excited about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. In fact, a recent Chainalysis report found that the country leads the world when it comes to grassroots adoption of crypto.
In terms of organizations developing innovating ideas that rely on blockchain technologies, Kenya is home to several, including:
- Utu Technologies
- Kotani Pay
- Pezesha
- PesaBase
However, a challenge facing blockchain and crypto development on the continent is the lack of talent and skills. In this respect, some of the top blockchain companies today are playing a bigger role in supporting and nurturing the talent in Africa.
____________________________________________________________
SEE ALSO: 4 Kenyan Startups Building Innovative Solutions on the Celo Blockchain
___________________________________________________________________
Here are the leading blockchain technologies supporting Kenya developers:
Celo
Celo is building financial solutions on its blockchain, with a mobile-first approach. The idea behind this approach is to make sure that the financial benefits that come out of blockchain technology can reach the millions of people across the world who are poor and can’t access the best technology devices.
As part of its approach, the organization, through Celo Foundation, has carried several initiatives to enhance talent in Kenya.
Most recently, Celo teamed up with the World Food Programme (WFP) and Corsali, a machine learning company, to launch what is described as Kenya’s first crypto learning center.
The program has already trained 200 young people on how to access digital work from global platforms using their smartphones. It aims to reach and train at least 400 people from remote areas by March 2022.
The blockchain has also been at the forefront for providing grants to support developers in Kenya:
- In its latest Wave 4 Grant Program, Kenya’s Pezesha was one of 4 African recipients.
- DeFi for the people has promised $100 million to support educational initiatives, grants, and incentives to fulfill its ambition.
- Celo has established a vibrant developer community in Kenya with various meetups and community events
Binance
In 2020, Binance says it successfully educated over 70,000 Africans about crypto fundamentals, practical tutorials on how to set up an account – and buy & sell crypto, technical analysis and crypto trading.
In June, Binance announced that it was dedicating $1 million train up to 1,000 African developers with the right tools skills to build their first DApps on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network, all within the first quarter of 2021.
Cardano
Cardano is one of the blockchain organizations that is alive to the potential that blockchain technology has in Africa.
Input Output, Cardano’s parent organization, has launched a six million dollars (USD) blockchain fund in Africa, to invest in the most innovative blockchain projects who are building on Cardano in Africa.
EMURGO, one of Cardano’s founding parties also started EMURGO Africa in Kenya, which has launched a $100 million allocation for a dedicated investment and incubation program.
EMURGO Africa will first target pre-seed blockchain startups with a market capitalization of $20M or less, and then early-stage startups, with a focus on startup communities in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt, before expanding across Africa.
EMURGO Africa’s investments will focus on blockchain sectors such as DeFi and NFTs, and emerging technologies such as AI, fintech, edutech, agritech, and healthtech.
Stellar Blockchain
Stellar foundation is another protocol that is focused on Africa.
In July 2021, Stellar Foundation, alongside DFS Lab, put out an open call for a blockchain bootcamp for African startups. The call-out targets early-to-mid stage startups and will be an opportunity to build projects on the Stellar blockchain.
The organization also carried out this panel discussion between fintech leaders in Africa:
The 3-day design bootcamp was said to offer participating startups hands-on technical support and guidance from both the DFS and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) teams.
BTC address: 3CW75kjLYu7WpELdaqTv722vbobUswVtxT
ERC20 Address: 0x03139524428e40E31f13909f8D994C915FB91277
SOL address: 9cC65AWFHj848kntcoyiT8av3jiRQEqyTTmBR1GvVUb
