The Open Banking Expo UK kicked off yesterday (20^th October) at the Business Design Centre in London. Over 650 industry experts and enthusiasts gathered to hear over 100 key speakers across 9 stages throughout the day.

Ola Atose, CEO and Founder of KoinKoin, a digital assets exchange platform dedicated to creating a ‘bordeless Africa, was one such speaker who took to the ‘Meet the CEO’ stage mid-afternoon, where he was interviewed on the journey of the company to date, and the market opportunity for an Africa-focussed cryptocurrency firm.

During the interview talk, Ola Atose, Founder of KoinKoin, commented:

“Funding for Africa-focussed cryptocurrency firms grew by 11 times year-over-year from the first quarter of 2021 to 2022 – a total of 304 million US dollars – so clearly there is significant appetite for access to digital assets across the continent. This is because cryptocurrency solves key real world problems relating to remittance and access to assets that store value, and enable firms to hedge against local fiat currency risk.

“Therefore, bringing innovative financial solutions that solve real world issues is a key market demand that must be tapped in to. It is also important to provide education in this space, so that key African businesses, particularly SMEs, are aware of the support and financial solutions available to them through digital currencies.

“In fact we have noticed that a majority of firms have cross-border payment issues in Africa, which keeps them from moving as fast they would like. Access to Stablecoins, such as USDT, also helps to significantly widen a means of trade amongst Africa’s 55 countries, whilst simultaneously boosting their balance sheets, and enabling them to pay local and international invoices in a lightning fast manner.”