On today's episode of the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts, Oluwanifemi Kolawole, Bolu Abiodun, and Chimgozirim Nwokoma discuss African tech stories making the waves this week.
We're back in East Africa this week as news of Rwanda's plans to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by 2026 was announced last week.
The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) say it will provide Rwandans with a safe, free, and convenient alternative to physical cash. The CBDC is also expected to increase the country's financial inclusion, allowing more unbanked people to participate in the formal economy.
Hakuziyaremye stated that the Rwandan CBDC is important because of developments in other countries, citing African nations such as Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, which are either in the piloting phase or have already launched their CBDCs.
While the idea is laudable, there are important questions to ask of the importance of CBDCs. Currently, only three countries globally have active CBDCs — Nigeria, Ecuador, and Senegal. There are over 60 either at pilot stage or in the pipeline.
Many tout cross-border payments as a use case but as Bolu points out, this hardly ever works out well with private blockchain networks.
Then, we go to the Wasoko-MaxAB merger.
The merger was first announced in December 2023 and was projected to be finalised by March 2024. However, several issues have come to light since then.
It has reportedly faced delays due to extended due diligence, ongoing restructuring, and macroeconomic challenges.
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This week, A Wasoko spokesperson told TechCrunch that the merger with MaxAB is proceeding as planned and on schedule, but no specifics can be shared due to the ongoing nature of the process.
While many have touted this as an ecosystem-shaping event, Chimgozirim and Bolu disagree.
You can catch up on the conversation on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and anywhere you get your podcasts. You can also send your questions and observations to podcast@techpoint.africa or share your thoughts using the hashtag #TechpointAfricaPodcast.
