Blockchain Africa Conference 2023: Empowering African businesses to compete in the global market
The use of blockchain technology has gained traction in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana – resulting in more efficient and cheaper cross-border payments to facilitate African businesses trading abroad1. This shift can be attributed to an increase in global ratification of the technology where approximately 44% of the top 100 public companies2, including tech giant Amazon, Tencent, Nike and MacDonalds. More and more companies are venturing towards the new technology as a result of the need for increased trust, security, transparency and traceability of data shared across business networks. Moreover, blockchain technology’s most significant appeal in an African context is that it is both cost-effective and efficient, for which there is a real need and can potentially accelerate the continent’s socio-economic growth. It is therefore crucial that the development of Africa’s blockchain progress is showcased to the rest of the world.
To champion this, Bitcoin Events’ flagship event, the Blockchain Africa Conference, returns for its 9th yearth annual edition. The continent’s most prominent blockchain event will take place from 16-17 March 2023 at The Galleria in Sandton, South Africa. The event promises to promote valuable in-person and virtual interaction after two years of the conference being held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic protocols. The prestigious event is set to bring together the world’s most innovative ideas, market disruptors, top industry trends and technologies on which the marketplace of the future will operate.
The conference will focus on global trends and disruptions, and how market players can exploit the opportunities and best respond to the threats. World-class international and local experts will unpack how blockchain technology and cryptoassets are transforming business operations globally and on the African continent.
Bitcoin Events Director Sonya Kuhnel noted: “There is much to be said for blockchain’s impact on Africa’s developing economies, including its inability to recognize tribal lines or national borders. Instead, blockchain gives us tools to bridge and connect communities, share values and ideas across borders, empowering a new generation of young African voices, as shared during the 2022 conference. The African content has endless possibilities that can be directed towards promoting socio-economic growth through blockchain. This year, we want to reiterate that Africa is ready for business. We plan to continue bringing together top experts to captivate and educate a global audience and put Africa on a global scale.”
Since its inception in 2015, the conference has attracted over 9,000 participants from 160 countries. It has showcased the best in blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation and disruption from around the world, with a spotlight on the African continent. This year, the focus is on how companies implement blockchain-based solutions to their business models, with special attention to the many innovative real-world use cases of this technology. Businesses no longer ask “why” but discuss “how” to use blockchain technology. The time to ask why this technology should be used is over, and the time to implement this technology into existing systems and build better systems is here.
This year’s exciting lineup of keynote speakers and experts includes the likes of John Kamara – Founder of Adanian Labs and Afyarekod and Chairman of the African Blockchain Centre, Rene Reinsberg, Co-Founder of Celo and President of the Celo Foundation, Founder of Stake Capital Group, and Curve Core Team Member Julien Bouteloup, CEO of the Interledger Foundation, Briana Marbury and CEO and founder of Eight BV, Michaël van de Poppe. They will share incredible insights, debates and panel discussions, focusing on use cases of how businesses are using blockchain technology and cryptoassets.
Commenting on the impact of Blockchain in Africa, John Kamara said: “I believe blockchain is a critical part of the future of the global economy and Africa must play an important role in this technology. We must become infrastructure owners and not just users; we must also build our own stable tokens and not just continue to consume other values. Web 2.0 is also a critical part of the use of blockchain technology. This means that we need to converge the ecosystem so that we can really leverage the value of the technology for us as we want to get it to work on our continent.”
Rene Reinsberg also noted, “Blockchain technology has demonstrated real-world impact, empowering communities where the use of digital assets is highest. Combined with fast, scalable mobile-first platforms like Celo, industries can benefit from transparent on-chain infrastructure , which provides greater financial access and prosperity for all.”
New technology has become the core of most sectors of society. Recently, these sectors have expanded to include finance, logistics, supply chain, healthcare, telecommunications and agriculture. Blockchain technology has made it possible for farmers to track important information about their products and processes. Subsequently, this data has increased transparency in supply chains and reduced problems related to illegal and unethical production1. Panel discussions on the 16th will include ‘Opportunities and challenges with blockchain in the healthcare system and’The Future of Stablecoins Across the Global Financial Market. In addition to the panel discussions, guests can look forward to fireside talks, keynote speakers, exhibitions, workshops, an exclusive opening night dinner reserved for VIPs, a cocktail and networking event held on the rooftop terrace, and a closing evening networking event that will be open to all.
Last year, the conference saw over 1,900 attendees, 60% of whom were from Africa, come together to gain insights on how to grow their businesses, capture leads and make real business connections.
“This platform is an incredible opportunity for companies, startups, governments and youth to connect and learn from business use cases and to step up and scale Africa’s socio-economic growth for e-commerce and entrepreneurship while unlocking the continent’s potential to the rest. of the globe”, concludes Kuhnel.
For more information about the event, go to:
Date: 16 – 17 March 2023
Times: 08:00 – 19:00
Venue: The Galleria, Sandton, Johannesburg
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About Bitcoin Events
Bitcoin Events was established in 2014 by Sonya Kuhnel and Theo Sauls to address the lack of education and information available to African individuals and organizations about the opportunities and challenges that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies offer. The duo are early adopters of cryptocurrencies and passionate about the exciting future of blockchain technology and use cases to address some of Africa’s biggest challenges, such as financial inclusion, economic development and job creation.
For more information, go to; Bitcoin Events
- https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/blockchain-can-provide-infrastructure-for-financial-inclusion-in-africa-standard-bank-2022-07-07
- https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Research/GlobalFindex/PDF/N2Unbanked.pdf
