Topic: How bitcoin can be useful in developing nations like the African continent. - page 4. (Read 2643 times)

Just as a small addition; There are already some traders buying BTC in Ethiopia, via Localbitcoins.

https://localbitcoins.com/country/ET

There are also cash-BTC buyers:

https://localbitcoins.com/places/607888/addis-ababa-et/

No sellers so far, that's the problem.

At their current state its a big NO though Its not like there's no other way right? People can always learn or encourage others to learn . Imagine if people there started using bitcoin there like 70/80% of them, I bet the tables will flip . We can see the dropping jaws of people who said that they can't adapt to technology . It's a long road but its worth giving a shot .

I think bitcoin can really help these kind of country, but the problem is, will they be interested in such digital currency? can they use a laptop or android phone? How about internet connection? Countries with poor people will not be interested in internet thing, they will be very busy for things that they will really have a profit like selling on their market. Bitcoin will not interest such busy people.

Do all people have internet and mobile phones in Africa? Even if they do, how exactly they are going to maintain a proper wallet without it getting lost or robbed? A lot of people cannot even understand how to get a wallet started and pay with Bitcoin to be honest.

But that's where the future should be going so we have a nice worldwide currency.

You're going to need everyone who comes in contact with Bitcoin to first and foremost be able to operate a wallet and be able to operate a smartphone. They also must be intelligent enough to deduce scams and other various malicious media on the internet before something like Bitcoin becomes viable for them.

Implementing Bitcoin systems will require a lot of time, as the population will have to get used to it, along with having reliable internet access for users, unless you want to set up places in a market or whatever where they can go and trade Bitcoin back and forth for fiat cash or whatever.

Local businesses will need my first point in order to thrive with Bitcoin.

Maybe you can find that interesting.https://humaniq.co/ cryptocurrency bank for unbanking areas.The problem with btc is that btc is not so much mobile friendly,but look link above,contact with devs maybe you can help and even get some job with project,thay have his thread on btctalk

Well - to receive BTC in Ethiopia it would first require a simple fiat-BTC gateway. A permanent LocalBitcoins trader would already be the first step and doesn't require too much capital - only a bit of knowledge about risk analysis and a bit of math to calculate the buy/sell rates. You can start with an relatively high spread to minimize risks and then experiment with the ideal rates.

Another possibility is to integrate the Ethiopian Birr in an already existing payment processor like Bitpay (here is a list of alternatives, perhaps integration in a smaller one is easier).

It is hard if only a few people with small resources will go into that kind of business making the use of bitcoin available to all local shops around africa. It will need a big company to finance that kind of system and the government of Africa to allow the use of bitcoin as a medium of exchange in the area. But do not worry it will be only a matter of time before your dream will come into reality.

I totally agree with this.  Here are the key reasons that people in developing countries would invest in Bitcoin:

-Bitcoin would naturally be stable.  In current conditions it's unstable, but with enough increasing backing from investors it will become more stable.

-Gold is easy to steal.  If you're in an area with a lot of desperate people you're not safe holding something as valuable as gold, and gold is also malleable - it could get destroyed in unsafe conditions, especially if you can only hold a tiny bit of it since you're quite poor anyway.  Bitcoin allows better control over funds.

-Increasing access to the Internet.  Even some poorer people will have some kind of Internet access, and if you have a device you can store Bitcoin.  You could even store it online and it would be moderately secure because you wouldn't have to access it too often.

Unfortunately, some people are even poorer than this and wouldn't have any significant money to put into Bitcoin anyway.  Not to mention that Bitcoin might be hard to buy with unstable currencies on exchanges.
 

It's a pity that this post got no responses so far. THAT's what could thrive Bitcoin to da moon

I just wrote something similar in another thread, so here are my two cents.

I don't know Ethiopia in detail (I have a desire to visit it eventually because it looks like a very interesting country) but I would focus on two aspects that Bitcoin could deliver to that kind of country:

1) a more reliable currency in economies with an unstable (very inflationary) native currency. I might be wrong but I think that's currently not the case in Ethiopia. It was the "selling point" that made Bitcoin interesting for people in countries like Argentina, Venezuela and maybe also Nigeria.
2) "banking services without banks". It could be of two kinds:
- savings accounts - these can be made with simple wallet software (even on cheap Android phones)
- crowdfinancing/microfinance. It's not necessary to code a own platform, you could use existing platforms (I've found BTCjam) although the language barrier might be a problem.

A major problem is, that should not be hidden, volatility. For poor people, lose 20% in a month (happens very often with BTC, even if the long-term trend is bullish) or having to pay back 20% more for a loan could be life-threatening. That's why I would probably first focus on things like donations and slowly try to "familiarize" the people with BTC.

To start, you will first need a fiat currency gateway. Are there already Bitcoin exchanges in Ethiopia? If not, are there at least traders on Localbitcoins? You can start offering BTC there for your local currency, making profit from the spread between bid and ask. Another option without much investment needed would be an integration of an Ethiopian payment processor to Bitsquare (an decentralized exchange).

Hey folks!

I'm new to the forum here. I've been watching with excitement lots of documentaries about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. As probably most of you here, I am completely fascinated by the wonders of Bitcoin and its potential use in paving a new path towards decentralization of the financial system. I live in Ethiopia (East Africa), second highest population in the continent with a large amount of people still considered unbanked (low to no access to financial institutions). Hence, I am seriously considering starting a bitcoin service in the country to try and alleviate some of these issues. I am therefore open to any engagement of productive discussions about Bitcoin and its benefits in developing nations. How can we implement Bitcoin systems here? Where do we begin? Who can we partner with? How to include the financially unincluded? How can local businesses thrive with Bitcoin? How can donations happen using Bitcoin? And all questions related to developing nations and Africa. Thank you all in advance for the active participation!