President of Uganda to Lead Blockchain Conference in Kampala in July

Published at: June 24, 2019

The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, will officiate the 2019 Africa Blockchain Conference, according to a report by Kabuubi Media Africa on June 24

According to the report, The 2019 Africa Blockchain Conference — not to be confused with  The Blockchain Africa Conference 2019 which occurred in April — will be held from July 3 to July 4, and the theme is ’Africa 4.0:  Preparing Africa for the 4th Industrial Revolution.’ The conference topics will reportedly include fintech, payment systems, and the future of education.

President Museveni reportedly supported the use of blockchain technology in Uganda during his inaugural speech. Museveni is said to have cited four economic areas that he believes should be supported by blockchain technology: agriculture, manufacturing and processing, services, and the ICT sector.

Blockchain tech firm CryptoSavannah will reportedly be one of the organizers for the 2019 conference. The company’s director, Noah Baalesanvu, commented on the maturation of cryptocurrencies in Africa, saying:

“While initially being marred by scams and cons, significant value has moved to cryptos with major markets like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa with significant crypto holdings also trading activity.”

In 2018, CryptoSavannah partnered with the major cryptocurrency exchange Binance to gain financial support for blockchain growth in Uganda. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao claimed that his organization would create thousands of jobs in the country, tweeting:

“@binance will partner with @cryptosavannah @AggieKonde @HelenHaiyu to support Uganda's economic transformation and youth employment through blockchain, embracing the 4th industrial revolution. We will do this by creating thousands of jobs and bringing investments to Uganda.”

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Binance Charity Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a non-governmental organization based out of Uganda this April. The MoU aims to bolster the educational system of Kampala by providing a variety of supplies, ranging from solar panels to sanitary pads.

Tags
Blockchain
Fintech
Africa
Uganda
Related Posts
Jelurida will launch 30-day blockchain education campaign across East Africa
The African arm of the company behind the Ignis, Nxt and Ardor blockchains will be launching a multi-country tour to provide blockchain education in the public and private sectors. According to information provided to Cointelegraph, Jelurida Africa said it would begin a blockchain expedition starting with Tanzania’s self-governing state of Zanzibar on Oct. 23 before continuing on to Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. The group aims to promote blockchain education with meetups in universities, financial institutions and public offices. The team of distributed ledger technology and smart contract experts said it plans to reach out to …
Blockchain / Oct. 13, 2021
Emerging technologies can change the African financial landscape
Africa is the home to 1.2 billion people and what has been described as the world’s largest trade area — the African Continental Free Trade Area. Africa is forging a new path to driving development, and access to financial services will play a significant role in its economic growth. The need to provide improved systems for poverty reduction, if not alleviation, is further accentuated when one considers that 416 million Africans live in extreme poverty, and access to financial services is right at the heart of the solution. In a review of the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth, …
Technology / Oct. 4, 2020
Weather-tracking blockchain in West Africa, but transparency on a raincheck
West Africa is home to an estimated 381 million people and counting. Unfortunately, the region was also found to be a hotspot for climate change, which will likely impact crop yields and food production while causing damage to its unique wildlife. At the same time, West Africa is well on its way to becoming the next blockchain hotspot as well, with the region continuing to show interest in cryptocurrency and digital solutions. In 2019, Nigeria ranked as the number one country for Bitcoin searches on Google, which may be linked to the prominence of fintech adoption across the continent. For …
Adoption / Nov. 10, 2020
Opera-Backed Fintech OPay Seals $120M Investment to Grow Across Africa
Lagos-headquartered fintech Opay has sealed $120 million in a series B financing round from a host of high-profile Chinese investors. Founded in 2018 by web browser developer Opera, OPay — which focuses on developing digital payments solutions to promote financial inclusion — had previously raised $50 million in June of this year, according to what Opera’s spokesperson told Cointelegraph. Opay to extend payments solution across Africa According to a Nov. 18 report from TechCrunch, Opera’s OPay reportedly intends to use the new Series B $120 million round to scale and extend its digital payments solution beyond Nigeria to Kenya, Ghana …
Adoption / Nov. 18, 2019
Ugandan central bank U-turns on crypto, welcoming firms to regulatory sandbox
The Bank of Uganda is open to the idea of cryptocurrency businesses participating in its Regulatory Sandbox, inviting members of the Blockchain Association of Uganda (BAU) to share their knowledge with the central bank. A letter from the bank dated June 1 to the chairperson of the BAU, Kwame Rungunda, referred to a meeting between the two parties in early May. The central bank also advised the country’s crypto advocacy group to brush up on the sandbox regulations before it made time for further technical discussions. We look forward to working with @BOU_Official and all other stakeholders in shaping the …
Regulation / June 6, 2022