Africa is the future of DeFi, argues Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson

In one of his frequent Youtube missives to his following, CEO of IOHK — the developers behind the Cardano Blockchain — Charles Hoskinson revealed that the company’s long-term developmental focus will hinge on Africa, going so far as to say the world’s second-most populous continent might be the future for decentralized finance (DeFi) development. 

““When we ask ourselves, ‘who will be the consumers of DeFi who will be in need of identity systems and payment systems and new ways of representing equities’ — will it be the ossified, highly regulated markets of the western world, which are invitation-only […] or will it be the agile and nimble countries of Africa, Southeast Asia, who have no incumbencies and are desperately to compete and thus are open and friendly to retooling and ideas?”

“Given that the human capital, physical capital, and economics are all moving in the right direction, it is my belief that Africa will be the most promising economic environment in the next ten years,” Hoskinson concluded.

Hoskinson isn’t alone in thinking that the next wave of DeFi’s adoption will begin in Africa. In a previous interview with Cointelegraph, Patrick Rawson of blockchain think tank Curve Labs said that reaching “the last mile” of users will require DeFi developers to tailor their products to un-and-underbanked users. 

The specifics of how Cardano will grow in the world’s second most populous continent were scarce, however. Hoskinson teased that Cardano has successfully built “networks and relationships” which provide the blockchain project with “strategic partners and relationships and political access in the right places.”

He added that he believed these connections will lead to “flagship deals,” which will in turn help to land “much larger deals.” While he notes that there is $5.6 trillion in wealth across the continent, little of which is available to global markets, he offered little by way of a roadmap towards Cardano capturing that value.

The founder did promise a future, dedicated Youtube episode which will lay out the strategies and details of Cardano’s Africa rollout with greater clarity and strategy specifics.

“As we see that 5.6 trillion in wealth, it is my hope that the representation of that wealth will live on the Cardano blockchain,” he said.

Hoskinson previously discussed Cardano’s Africa push in an AMA with the community, where he did reveal the details of contracts that IOHK has managed to win so far, as well as one instance where the company was underbid. IOHK also houses its headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.