Ghana is working to develop offline capabilities for its forthcoming central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a bid to promote its use across all segments of Ghanaian society. According to a Monday report from Bloomberg, Kwame Oppong, head of fintech and innovation at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), revealed that the country’s digital currency “e-cedi” will support offline transactions during the Ghana Economic Forum on Monday. Oppong emphasized that offline functionality will allow Ghanaians who lack reliable access to electricity and internet connectivity to embrace the country’s CBDC, stating: “The e-cedi would also be capable of being used in an …
The latest central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has been met with skepticism as Afroblocks, an in-house independent association, speculates the lack of clarity on the central bank’s intentions. Afroblocks (previously Blockchain Society Ghana) has warned the BoG to steer away from “old traditional siloed financial thinking” while planning and developing its digital currency. Rather, Afroblocks co-founder Omar Majdoub said that the success of a CBDC in Ghana will be in its ability to emulate modern-day cryptocurrencies — i.e., being borderless and decentralized. The BoG has partnered with German securities printing firm Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) …
Western perception of precious African resources usually tends to focus on the diamond trade. However, amid an ongoing pandemic, gold usually surfaces as both one of the most in-demand and discussed assets in the world. Historically known as a risk-off asset, meaning its price is decoupled from most financial markets, gold is a safe-haven asset sought by financial institutions and retail traders alike. While the COVID-19 fallout has sparked widespread losses across global markets, with the price of gold also falling, the precious metal usually weathers financial storms better than most assets. This is in tune with the 2008 financial …
It has been nearly two decades since the world saw the introduction of a new multinational currency bloc that would alter the balance of global power. Just like the euro, a new currency is taking shape that can compare in scope and vision. Only this time, it’s happening in Africa, and shockingly it’s not digital. The West African Monetary and Economic Union state countries are currently in transition to adopt a new currency that will be used in a single market across a dozen or more West African countries — the Eco. Pegged to the euro, it is designed to …
In modern times of rapid globalization and digitization, technological developments have now reached such proportions that the usage of cryptocurrencies is no new phenomenon. The technology behind blockchain opens the internet for financial services by replacing trust, a fundamental component of the financial system for centuries, with transparency integrated into a decentralized network. Thereby, blockchain bears the potential to help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by empowering the unbanked, predominantly women, reducing transaction fees as well as creating an alternative source of liquidity. Only 57.7% of adults in Ghana in 2021 had a bank account. Unable to …