The CEO of one of Kenya’s biggest lenders has argued there is a possibility cryptocurrencies will complement mobile money in Africa but first, there is a need to convince regulators of their benefits.
African Regulators’ Stance on Crypto
Cryptocurrencies can potentially complement mobile money in Africa if regulators on the continent are made to change their perceptions of the digital currencies, the boss of one of Kenya’s biggest lenders has said. James Mwangi (CEO of Equity Group Holdings Plc), stated that central banks need to first understand the potential benefits of cryptocurrencies.
In remarks published by Bloomberg, Mwangi noted that most of the continent’s central banks have either banned the use of cryptocurrency like bitcoin or have imposed restrictions on its use. However, he noted that some countries are considering embracing cryptocurrencies or have already done so.
Mwangi says that Africa’s adoption of cryptocurrencies can also be a way to get ahead of the rest in terms of embracing 4th industrial technologies.
“Africa will benefit substantially from leapfrogging on the fourth industrial technologies, and cryptocurrency is one of them,” Mwangi is quoted explaining.
Embracing Emerging Technologies
To support his arguments, Mwangi used Kenya’s rapid growth in mobile money transactions as an example. Mwangi said that since then mobile money transactions outperformed hard currency transactions. This was because Kenyan regulators allowed new technology to be used.
Mwangi also suggested that using emerging technologies like artificial intelligence could be the basis for the continent’s leapfrogging into the fourth industrial revolution.
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