Eswatini Central Bank Partners With German Firm to Explore CBDC – Bitcoin News

Eswatini was recently the latest African nation to join the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The central bank chose Giesecke Devrient from Germany as its partner. An agreement signed by both parties aims to enable them to deepen their “understanding of the practicalities of implementing a CBDC in Eswatini.”

The strongest opportunity for adoption is in retail CBDC

After it emerged that Giesecke Devrient, a German-based company, was appointed by the Central Bank of Eswatini as their technology partner in the digital currency initiative of the Southern African nation of Eswatini.

The technology company released a statement stating that an agreement was reached in this regard at the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual meeting.

The country’s selection of the German firm comes some two years after the latter’s completion of the so-called CBDC Diagnostic Study which found that “a retail CBDC presented the strongest and direct opportunity for the adoption of a digital currency in Eswatini.” The recently signed agreement is said to enable both parties to further deepen their “understanding of the practicalities of implementing a CBDC in Eswatini.”

Eswatini Fully Equipped To Issue A CBDC

Commenting on the CBE’s coming together with Giesecke Devrient, the bank’s governor, Phil Mnisi, said:

G+D was engaged as technical consultant by the Central Bank of Eswatini to help us on our journey to explore and develop local CBDC use cases and policy considerations. We are confident that G+D’s technological expertise and their strong regional presence in our continent will allow us to realize all possible advantages of a Digital Lilangeni and ensure we’re fully equipped to issue a CBDC in the future.

For his part, Wolfram Seidemann, the CEO of the technology company, suggested that Eswatini was one of the countries on the African continent to “take the step towards a retail CBDC.” Seidemann, whose firm has also partnered with the Ghanaian central bank, said his company was honored to be a part of Eswatini’s CBDC journey.

The CBE, like its counterparts from other African countries is eager to roll out a CBDC as it seeks to solve problems with fiat currencies. Although there are many African countries interested in launching a CBDC, they are still conducting trial studies. However, Nigeria’s central bank has launched the first digital currency.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara was a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist and author. He is a prolific writer on the economic woes of African countries, as well as digital currencies that can be used to provide an escape path for Africans.