Blockchain technology brings with it several opportunities to earn income. One of this opportunities involves the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. For first class economies globally, this trade is way advanced and contributes in taxes but the case however, is not true in the African continent. The first important fact we have to realize is that, Africa has achieved very little adoption of blockchain and web3 technologies. This is due to a myriad of reasons ranging from lack of information to limited platforms within the continent to support the crypto trading activity. Most of the exchanges being used by some young people in Africa are foreign. For crypto trading to work effectively, the governments within the continent have to put necessary legislation in place to enhance the growth of this sector. Many residents of the continent still do not know anything about this sector and only few understand it. Among those who understand it, only a few have invested in it. However. with advancements in the sector being witnessed around the world, Africans are slowly adopting this technology as more crypto startups are creeping up by each Day.
EasyFlip is one such startup that was launched in the year 2020 in the Kenyan Capital, Nairobi. The startup has one major objective that is, to increase cryptocurrency adoption among the African population. As part of its efforts to achieve this objective, EasyFlip is creating simple and secure software solutions that are usable to users in order to onboard more Africans into the buying and selling of cryptocurrency. Since the African market majorly relies on traditional finance systems to facilitate trade and transfer of value or payments, EasyFlip is taking an approach that is meant to bridge the gap between the traditional fiat currencies and DeFi(Decentralized Finance) rather than replace them all together. This design principle is also reflected in their suite of software products. The startup is still raising funds and intends to make the world of digital assets and financial pricing fair and transparent to Africans.
The startup has already launched its EasyFlip mobile app that supports IOS and Android OS devices on Apple App Store and Google Play Store respectively. EasyFlip users can buy digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether using locally available payment solutions like M-pesa(a mobile money transfer system), Airtel Money or T-Kash from Telkom Company in a fast and simple way. The platform also allows its users exchange cryptos and make payments using cryptocurrency. The app also has integrated conversion to ensure that users don’t have to leave the app to complete their transactions.
the startup also has a payment solution tailored for businesses where it allows customers who use EasyFlip to pay using Bitcoin and other crypto currencies in minutes. The solution is fast to get started with as it allows users to scan to pay using their mobile devices. The platform also offers fast and automatic conversions from crypto to fiat currencies and therefore allowing businesses to tap into the global market. The solution is also secure to the businesses and protects them from chargebacks because the transactions are irreversible as is the case with other payment solutions.
EasyFlip has not only made their products simple for users but also for developers. The platform has widgets and APIs that have been tested through hundreds of integrations. The plug and play nature of the company’s solutions makes it easy to connect to the crypto economy since users require only a few lines of code. Apart from widgets and APIs the platform also provides a robust documentation, webhooks and a developer console to developers.
Author’s sentiments
In trying to make crypto adoption in Africa gain momentum, it is important that we design simple solutions that make it easy to onboard more users. Also, for the start, it is crucial to bridge the gap between the traditional and decentralized systems. This is a new concept to Africans who heavily rely on and trust the traditional means. If we can achieve simplicity, then we can expand the market size instead of only targeting a small subset. Be sure to leave a comment on your thoughts below and check out the next article on the series here.
