An African Blockchain Enthusiast Launches an Expedition to Highlight East Africa’s Potential – Interview

While the African continent is generally considered one of the most suitable places to adopt and fully utilize blockchain, the reality on the ground suggests otherwise.

The blockchain expedition in East Africa

As Adedayo Adebajo, the managing director of Jelurida Africa and a blockchain enthusiast, told Bitcoin.com News, the focus of investments was mainly on two regions, South and West Africa.

Adebajo, in written answers to questions to Bitcoin.com News, suggests that the East African region is being left behind. Therefore, to correct this anomaly, Adebajo organized the East Africa Blockchain Expedition, an education and awareness campaign in which he travels to several African countries. This expedition, which began on October 23, is expected to last 30 days.

To learn more about this expedition and its goals, Bitcoin.com News sent questions to Adebajo, and below are his answers.

Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Can you briefly explain what this blockchain expedition is about?

Adedayo Adebajo (AA): The Blockchain Expedition is a journey through East African countries aimed at educating, training, creating communities and then showcasing areas where blockchain technology is already being used in the zone. The intent is to grow developer communities, encourage greater adoption, and improve public and private knowledge, particularly in areas where blockchain technology can help businesses and standards.

BCN: What motivated you to do this?

AA: The main activator was the open statement by the President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan, which encouraged banks and other sectors to look into blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. It was an open invitation given Tanzania's position in the East African region. This is an opportunity that evangelists and stakeholders like me have been waiting for. Take the awareness campaign to another level of comprehensive engagement. I believe now is the perfect time to educate more people and thereby promote greater acceptance.

BCN: Why East Africa and are there plans to do this in other parts of the continent?

AA: I think everyone is always looking for opportunities. While most are looking for greener pastures that allow them to scale easily, I am more of a trailblazer and pacesetter, creating opportunities that others consider a crazy journey. The focus of most tech giants is primarily in Western and Southern Africa and that needs to change. You'll be amazed at how much tech genius exists in East Africa that the rest of the world didn't know about. So my expedition will start in the east and serve as a reference point to the rest of the continent.

BCN: What do you hope to achieve after this expedition ends?

AA: At the end of the expedition I hope to have:

1. Hunderttausende von Gemeinden in der gesamten Region versammelt, um das Bewusstsein weiter zu verbreiten,
2. Die Unterstützung bestimmter öffentlicher Stellen nach technologieorientierten Interaktionen, die einen dynamischen und Startup-freundlichen Regulierungsrahmen für die Blockchain-Technologie fördern.
3. Erfolgreich überzeugt und den Grundstein für die Massenadoption im privaten und öffentlichen Sektor gelegt.
4. Erhöhen Sie die Community des Blockchain-Entwicklers um Hunderte.

BCN: Charles Hoskinson, the creator of the Cardano blockchain, has apparently identified Africa as the most ideal market for the blockchain and currently is tour the continent. On the other hand, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has tweeted in the past about the potential of blockchain-backed cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in African countries like Nigeria. Why do influential people like Hoskinson and Dorsey keep emphasizing the potential of blockchain in Africa?

AA: I basically see them as investors and like everyone else who sees the potential in the population and the need for decentralized solutions. Africa is still considered poor and underdeveloped despite having numerous resources that the other part of the world does not possess. These are big enough potentials for decentralized technologies to scale and any investor would see that.

BCN: Do you agree that blockchain may be more useful in Africa than in North America or Europe?

AA: As mentioned, we have the population and the resources, what we lack to become the most desirable continent is the proper utilization and allocation using these emerging technologies like Blockchain. If adopted and deployed and used in the right sectors, it (Blockchain) will promote rapid developments across the continent and allow us to compete with other developed continents.

BCN: Do you think African governments fully understand blockchain and what it can do?

AA: I don't say enough about what the African government understands. Most of the people in the seat of power are not of the new generation. Most come from the analogue age who still see value in using a typewriter instead of printing, then some come from the intermediate generation. Acceptance and acceptance of these 4IR technologies would have increased if the government fully understood them and their potentials.

Do you agree with Adebajo’s idea to raise awareness about blockchain in East Africa? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

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