US investor buys stake in malawian crypto firm
HeraSoftware, an American Blockchain software company, has bought 5 percent stake in Malawian cryptocurrency firm, Buy Bitcoin Malawi, a partnership which has been described as “very strategic.”
Buy Bitcoin Malawi is a cryptocurrency marketplace which allows Malawians to buy or sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies instantly with the Malawian Kwacha.
The company has created an indigenous Bitcoin Application called Khodo which is also available on Playstore.
The application simply allows one to buy or sell Bitcoin with Malawi Kwacha through bank transfer or mobile money.
In an interview yesterday, Buy Bitcoin Malawi chief executive officer Grey Jabesi said HeraSoftware bought in the idea by Buy Bitcoin Malawi of bringing cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin) to African continent “because that is where it makes most sense.”
“They also like our Khodo Application which is perfectly designed for the Malawi ecosystem,” said Jabesi.
Following the deal which has seen Buy Bitcoin Malawi raising critical capital amid Covid-19 pandemic, Jabesi said the acquisition of the 5 percent stake by the American investor will help the company grow its
business by extending footprint across Malawi.
He said the company intends to establish offices across the country that will help in providing services and free education on cryptocurrency to Malawians.
“In fact, we are going to allocate the majority of the funds we raised to education throughout the country. We think, if we are to be very successful, it’s very important for people to learn and understand what cryptocurrency is,” he explained.
Jabesi said the company’s vision is also to expand into multiple African countries, starting with our neighbours, but stressed that achieving such a feat would require lots of software development work “so that the company can afford to grow our team and speed up software development.
Digital world analysts contend that cryptocurrency is seen as the future of money,adding that as a technology, Malawians should fully embrace it as it makes it easier for them to participate in the digital economy.
The digital economy is said to be associated with so many opportunities including storing value, pay for goods, store data and write immutable contracts in a trustless way.
Local advocates of cryptocurrrencies have in recent times lamented on negative messaging surrounding cryptocurrencies which they argue has essentially denied most people an opportunity to actually discover or
experiment with the real cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies within blockchain technology.
The ICT Association of Malawi president, Bram Fudzulani, said recently that at this juncture, Malawi needs cryptocurrencies but said there is need for heavy consumer awareness and protection before being fully
embraced in Malawi.
