Going for unbanked: SAFCOIN expands to Uganda, Nigeria

By George Mangula

 SAFCOIN, an exclusive African cryptocurrency, is now available in Uganda and Nigeria, allowing the unbanked to participate in the digital economy, helping small businesses to establish an e-commerce presence with no start-up costs, and empowering more Africans to access global work opportunities through MobiJobs.Africa.

Launched in South Africa in 2018 after a successful Initial Coin Offering (ICO), SAFCOIN is built on its own decentralised blockchain, which is protected by a network of miners. The SAFCOIN Exchange supports trading in SAFCOIN, Bitcoin, and money trading pairs.

It is also one of the first cryptocurrencies in the world to offer mobile money deposits, as well as card and bank deposits.

“This is significant, since 62 percent of sub-Saharan Africans are unbanked,” says SAFCOIN CEO Neil Ferreira.
“Users can add funds to their SAFCOIN wallets through mobile money networks including Paga, MTN, and Airtel. Aside from not needing a bank account, the SAFPay payment gateway facilitates these transactions securely and with very low – or no – transaction fees. This is because SAFPay eliminates financial intermediaries, which drastically reduces the cost of sending and receiving digital money.”

Mobile money mecca

Africa is the world leader in mobile money. There are 100 million active mobile money accounts on the continent. In 13 African countries, over a third of adults are active mobile money users, representing 45.6% of the region’s population. This is expected to rise to 66 percent by 2025.

The proliferation of mobile money accounts throughout Africa supports SAFCOIN’s mission to demystify cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, and to empower more people to be part of the global digital currency revolution and Africa’s cryptocurrency history.

Empowerment through education 

“Blockchain technology is still confusing to many Africans and is preventing its widespread adoption. It’s a relatively new concept for many people, who don’t know how to invest, where to invest, or what cryptocurrency to invest in,” says Ferreira.

“We have two goals. First, we want to simplify the cross-border payment processes between African countries, by eliminating red tape and bulky transaction processes. We hope to see SAFCOIN become an Africa-wide accepted form of payment that boosts trade between countries.”
“Second, we believe that everyone in Africa should have an opportunity to understand and trade with cryptocurrency, and we want to educate them on the power of this alternative asset class and the opportunities it creates. To this end, we will soon open call centres and walk-in centres in Kampala and Nigeria, where users can learn how to trade with SAFCOIN cryptocurrency, on the exclusive SAFCOIN Exchange and on local and international exchanges.”

He adds, “From our experience in South Africa, these centres have been instrumental in helping people far beyond cryptocurrency. They’ve offered support with setting up email accounts, joining online banking for the first time, and accessing mobile applications, bringing more people into the digital economy.”

Jobs for Africa 

These centres will also provide assistance with MobiJobs, Africa’s first blockchain-powered micro jobs platform, aimed at connecting businesses and gig economy workers across Africa, for free.

MobiJobs lets start-ups and SMEs list jobs, search freelancer profiles, and establish an online presence without set-up, hosting, or development costs. It also lets freelancers market their skills, build their experience, and “buy” listed jobs, even if they don’t have a bank account. There are no joining, account, or transaction fees, and jobs are paid for in SAFCOIN, via the SAFPay payment gateway.

SAFPay aims to simplify and reduce the cost of e-commerce trading. It provides an easy way for users to make online payments using SAFCOIN – for free. It also serves as a cheaper, easy alternative for micro traders and small businesses to trade online and access a larger, more dispersed market.

“For businesses, it means frictionless trading across borders. For individuals, it means being able to send money home without paying any transaction fees. Cryptocurrency has the potential to radically transform trade, and SAFCOIN is proud to be part of that revolution,” says Ferreira.

SAFCOIN is a cryptocurrency founded by Africans, for Africans. Launched on 13 December 2018, following a successful ICO between July and October 2018, SAFCOIN is now available in South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, and Nigeria, for Fiat deposits, transactions, and withdrawals.

It aims to promote social and economic growth across the continent, by becoming the chosen source of trading currency across Africa, through e-commerce payments and remittances.

SAFCOIN supports a wide range of payment methods, facilitated through SAFPay, a bespoke cryptocurrency payment gateway that charges zero transaction fees for SAFCOIN payments and a low 2 percent for Bitcoin payments. This makes SAFPay more affordable than other payment gateways.

The SAFCOIN cryptocurrency is a POW coin that’s mined on a Scrypt algorithm.