“The Blockchain Taskforce in Kenya Has Already Been Formed” — An Interview with Morris Gitonga from Nairobi
Kenya has shown a huge adoption and growth in applying technology, for instance, M-Pesa. Do you see the same happening to cryptocurrencies and blockchain?
Morris: M-Pesa has massively grown in terms of adoption in Kenya, and because people have a strong need to make financial operations with ease, M-Pesa is a perfect tool that offers immediate transfer of money, with small limitations. Even if you have access to banks, you have to access them at certain hours, certain days etc., it is not as convenient as with M-Pesa. Even though M-Pesa is a little bit expensive in terms of the cost of the transaction, people are willing to look past the costs, for the purposes of convenience.
Talking about cryptocurrency, locals are quite fascinated with Bitcoin, and lots of people are interested in trading or as they put it “investment in bitcoin”. Except that, comparing to M-Pesa, cryptos have no limitations while sending larger amounts of money and its cost friendly. It’s important to mention that with the high unemployment rate in Kenya, most youths end up working in the informal sector also known as Juakali sector. So, most of the young people working in this Juakali/Informal sector are using cryptocurrencies to facilitate their payment transactions. Generally speaking, the population in Kenya becomes friendlier with technology, so people start to use cryptocurrencies more. For instance, in restaurants, in normal shops (I know a retail shoe shop and a restaurant where they accept BTC), so the trend is growing.
How did you find out about cryptocurrency?
Morris: I first learnt about it in 2011, we just had a conversation with a friend and he mentioned BTC, like it’s the case for many people in the space I didn’t take an interest. Only to hear of the same in early 2017 and this time due to its massive growth in price I became interested and started own research to understand more about Bitcoin. Just to add, in 2017 it was a first time when I was paid with BTC for my freelance job, and actually the same year, I and my friends decided to form a media portal CoinWeez that currently accepts payments in cryptocurrencies too.
Wow! It’s been a long time since 2017. And what’s the common source from which people get to know about cryptos in Kenya these days?
Morris: People tend to get to know about cryptocurrency via social media channels, the most popular would be Facebook and Youtube. We also organize meetups for cryptocurrency lovers after office hours during weekdays and over weekends. So, as you can see, Kenyans don’t want just to sit and relax at home, they are always eager to learn something new and get more educated, especially when it comes to technology.
How do you feel the current sentiment of cryptocurrencies in Kenya? What do you feel the government stands is in Cryptocurrencies? Is there a chance the crypto will be banned?
Morris: Personally, I don’t see this happening, as we have quite pro-technology government officials who are in charge of ICT, and competently understand the technology, as well as the potential it can give to the Kenyan people. Furthermore, the blockchain taskforce in Kenya has already been formed and is headed by a very progressive committee member under the leadership of tech-savvy chairman Dr Bitange Ndemo. So, I’d say, from the government side, they don’t have an intention to ban it, but rather warn about possible threats and just create a caution.
Is it easy to turn bitcoin into fiat in Kenya? M-Pesa is a fiat.
Morris: Yes, it’s quite easy. M-Pesa has the exchange of Bitcoin to Fiat currency using Localbitcoins which is peer to peer online marketplace, so you can easily sell or buy Bitcoin in exchange to M-Pesa, or simply peer-to-peer where you can meet and transact face to face while still using the platform. It is common here to exchange face-to-face.
Emphy is providing opportunities worldwide for landlords & tenants of short-term housing. We decided to launch our (mobile) platform on Kenyan market, as it’s quite large (in terms of real-estate) as well as the banking sector is not well developed yet, so we’re trying to help the local Kenyan landlords to make income with a help of Emphy ecosystem based on the blockchain. Both, landlords and tenants from around the world will be able to pay and receive money in Emphy Coins. Do you see it as a good concept for Kenyan landlords?
Morris: Not only to landlords but young Kenyans who like to travel. Mostly the young generation is always looking for options online. Coming from Kenyan culture, it’s important for us to have ratings present, as well as the convenience of use. For instance, I tried using Airbnb, and to be honest, it’s been a quite hectic experience for me. I didn’t manage to secure my rental home because of the miscommunication with the landlord, and as Kenyan person, I’ve been quite reluctant to pay the amount in advance. So, in this case, I see the option of the landlord receiving payments on a daily basis from a guest is quite good.
What about landlords?
Morris: When it comes to Kenyan landlords, I think it would be beneficial for them to be facilitated with Emphy, especially the platform would be most applicable to young landlords, because they are more technology-friendly. Critically thinking, I think that Kenyan people involved in real-estate, and living outside Nairobi, should be more approached as not that many people from real-estate know about cryptocurrencies, especially in cities outside Nairobi, so I think it’s important to approach and educate people about this.
And about the concept, smartphones are a big thing in Kenya now — so we tend to use smartphones a lot to access online marketplaces, so if Kenyans can access the convenience, rating system, and build trust via Emphy — it would be great.
We believe we’re on the right track then! It’s good to know that as a Kenyan citizen, you consider Emphy as a great opportunity for locals. We would like to thank you for the interview, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your insights with us. Our team is working hard to make Emphy as tailored as possible to meet the needs of the market. We’re focused on listening to, evaluating, and incorporating the feedback from communities we’re speaking to. We consider this feedback vital to achieving the right vision and in developing a platform that will benefit thousands of people internationally.