Bitcoin Will Empower Nigeria’s Youth – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion editorial by Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful and co-founder of the Built With Bitcoin Foundation.
My airplane wheels touched the tarmac, excitement took over me – it was my first visit to Nigeria in a year and it felt good to be back.
Anyone who has listened to me over the past seven years knows that I have so much enthusiasm and faith in the future of the people of the Global South – and there is no country I am more excited about than Nigeria.
As I write this, I have just spent the last 10 days in the country. I had the honor of speaking at an event hosted by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to explain how Bitcoin is helping to empower the Nigerian youth. It was an opportunity to talk to people in government and explain why they should embrace Bitcoin – this is a solution to better the lives of the people, especially the youth, and it’s already happening.
It’s been almost two years since I stood on stage at Bitcoin 2021 and I shared my enthusiasm for this amazing country and its amazing people. It wasn’t scripted or planned, it was from the heart. I told Bitcoiners in the Miami audience why I am so passionate about the country, what it has taught me and how bright the future will be. My message resonated with people and in the weeks and months that followed I was able to open a dialogue with people from all over the world who had seen the clip and shared my passion. There is a generation of young people eager and ready to help make this bright new future happen – and better yet, they want to do it with Bitcoin.
You will see in many studies that Nigerians lead in Bitcoin adoption – no surprise to me. They are early adopters and are looking for ways to improve their everyday lives – just ask the founders of WhatsApp, who benefited from the Nigerian appetite for the communication app. Bitcoin is the same for them.
It was the youth in Nigeria who taught me to think beyond the financial systems of the West and look at gift cards and alternative payment methods as alternatives to buying Bitcoin. I didn’t have this magical idea, it was through listening and seeing what the Nigerian people were doing that I was able to build Paxful.
What encourages me more is all the talented people on the ground – people like Bernard Parah and Abubakar Nur Khalil, and initiatives such as the Qala Fellowship – plus the PaxNaija Bitcoin Center in Abuja. It is an exciting time to be in Nigeria, even more so a Bitcoiner in Nigeria.
I ended the trip with a campus tour in Abuja, where I spoke to hundreds of young students about Bitcoin. It’s moments like this that I strive for. To see the people, to be on the ground, to see the hope and potential for the future. These are special times, this is a special country, and I will continue to speak for these incredible 220 million people. As Bitcoiners, we need to open our eyes from our Western mindset and look to see how the wider world uses Bitcoin – once we do, global adoption will become the reality we all desire.
Let’s jam for Naija.
This is a guest post by Ray Youssef. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
