Beyond Cryptocurrency: Blockchain Applications Transforming Africa
Blockchain technology has definitely come to stay, and the best part is that its applications are not limited to cryptocurrencies alone. This underlying technology of cryptocurrency has a lot of interesting applications that extend to our daily lives and it’s not surprising how the African continent is utilizing this technology to solve its social and financial issues.
Study shows that Africa continues to breed blockchain-based projects at a rapid pace to tackle its social and financial issues. Blockchain adoption is fast rising in Africa with 1,200% growth between 2020 and 2021 which attracted over $304 million in funding during the first half of 2022, 3 times more than in the entirety of 2021.
Today, we’ll look at some of the applications of blockchain technology across Africa.
Cross-border Payments
Before the advent of blockchain technology, making payments across borders was quite hectic. The funds would take days to reflect, and the cost of traditional money transfer services was quite high. This has now been transformed by blockchain technology: payments are faster and cheaper, and transaction fees are lower. Blockchain payments are now also being increasingly adopted as means of payment in African countries.
Boundlesspay
BoundlessPay is a digital banking application for cross-border collections, payments, and settlements. The cross-border payment feature enables you to make payments to anyone, anywhere in the world, without having to worry about currency conversions or international transaction fees. Users can also access crypto loans, pay utilities, invest in digital currencies and have access to other amazing decentralized finance features in one single app. Boundlesspay offers a crypto card that takes away conversion hassle. You can spend stable coins directly when shopping, making subscriptions, in-store and POS purchases, all on the go.
Real Estate
When it comes to Real Estate, Africa offers many attractive opportunities. With a growing economy, rising middle class, and increasing demand for housing, many African countries are becoming popular destinations for real estate investment. However, real estate acquisition becomes a challenging decision with rampant scams and under-dealings bedeviling the sector due to a lack of verifiable title documents.
HouseAfrica
HouseAfirca, a Protech wants to bring trust and transparency in African Real Estate by providing a blockchain-powered digital land registry for private property and land owners. Through its Sytemap platform, HouseAfrica helps first-time real estate buyers to select, verify, and pay for estate plots online. The platform makes it easier for buyers to verify the authenticity of the land they invest in and also get blockchain-powered proof of allocation of the land when they purchase it.
Healthcare/Supply Chain
AfyaRekod
AfyaRekod is a secure blockchain-driven health platform that allows individuals to store their health and medical information, engage with doctors, interact with verified health information, and access tools that will support their well-being and enhance their health.
Developed as a patient-driven platform, the patient maintains the sovereign right of ownership to their health data. Using AI and various blockchain modules, AfyaRekod allows health institutions, partners, and patients to make insightful data-driven decisions that allow doctors to provide better healthcare for patients.
Patients can start their journey in the AfyaRekod ecosystem via the SaaS Platform, Mobile Application, USSD and Patient Portal. The platform combines security, GDPR, HIPAA compliance and AI-based analysis to bridge the gap between healthcare and treatment for healthcare facilities and institutions to access and assist their patients anywhere.
Chekkit
According to WHO, 1 in 10 medical products in developing countries is substandard or falsified.
Chekkit, a Technology Solution for The Pharmaceutical & Consumer Goods Industries is providing a system for mitigating the counterfeiting of consumer goods and pharmaceutical products through user verification and supply chain traceability.
Chekkit is a blockchain-based product authentication, consumer intelligence and distribution tracking platform that blends big data and market insights with authentication technology.
Through blockchain technology, Chekkit is solving the problem of lack of transparency, traceability, and verification which are the key element missing in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) supply chain.
Betting/Lottery
Stakefair
Stakefair is a blockchain, crypto, and DeFi ecosystem that offers a range of interoperable products, including no-loss betting pools and staking contracts. The platform enables users to engage in DeFi activities, such as staking and betting without any loss and to build on DeFi APIs. Stakefair’s products are designed with high interoperability, making it easy for users to interact with different blockchain protocols and platforms.
Bitokun
Bitokun is truly a decentralized savings lottery system. By leveraging the power of blockchain technology, Bitokun offers a decentralized lottery-linked saving protocol designed to revolutionize the way people save money and participate in lotteries.
The platform provides a no-loss lottery system that allows players to stake and win prizes.
The platform is built on the Binance smart chain, and all transactions are executed via smart contracts, ensuring a transparent, immutable, and tamper-proof system.
Gaming
Blockchain gaming has the potential to open up new doors for African developers and entrepreneurs in a variety of ways. The fast-rising interest in the African blockchain space presents blockchain gaming as a gateway for Web3 adoption in Africa.
Diagon Studio
Diagonio Studios is a play-to-earn gaming platform that allows users to earn money while having the best gaming experience possible.
Through its product, Casual by Diagon, A Play-to-Earn social gaming application with hyper-casual games that reward users with native tokens (DGN), Gamers can earn digital assets without the complexity of gaming mechanics and can exchange their earnings for fiat currencies.
Points by Diagon provide a platform for utility payments that offers crypto transactions for mobile recharge, bills, subscriptions, and other services. Users can also redeem gift cards and vouchers for hotel reservations, flight tickets, and purchases from Apple, Amazon, and eBay.
