The Culture and Language Barrier | BanklessAfrica Newsletter
The Culture and Language Barrier | BanklessAfrica Newsletter
This is BanklessAfrica Newsletter, a newsletter that helps you stay up to date with well-curated news about crypto and Web3 around Africa.
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In this week’s editorial, which was written by our resident ‘black creative historian’ - you probably think you know who, but you don't, not really - we discuss how culture and language barriers can make it difficult for people in Africa to not only understand but to assimilate into the unique position that Web3 plays regarding the transformation of the technological space.
If you're a fan of our podcast episodes, you know that we love to highlight projects that are making an impact in Africa, and this week we tell you about a new project called Ghana Unity DAO. The Founder, Del Titus Bawuah, talks about the uniqueness of Africa in Web3 and describes the youthful population of Africa as having the potential to harness Web3 technologies. Africa is behind in terms of technological advancements — Web3 has the potential to bring Africa into a sphere of technological prominence in today’s contemporary society.
In our current affairs section, UN data reveals that 13 million Nigerians own cryptocurrencies; we get an update on the Sango Project, which is aiming to create a Bitcoin sidechain in the Central African Republic; and learn more about South African exchanges welcoming a new regulatory ruling that defines bitcoin as a financial asset.
If you are new to Web3 we got you, you’ve probably seen a lot of abbreviations been thrown around - NFTs, DAOs, SBT, etc. Well, our beginner friendly learning center will provide you with all that you need to find and eventually join a DAO yourself!
Barka (Welcome)
Contributors: MissPurple, Chameleon, SpiritedF, Oge, Leah par, Trewkat, Yofi
📈 Historical Snapshots
As of July 17 , 2022
Top Assets by Market Cap
Name: Bitcoin (BTC) Price: $20,994.71 Market Cap: $401,058,826,983
Name: Ethereum (ETH) Price: $1,337.46 Market Cap: $162,617,401,558
Name: Tether (USDT) Price: $0.9997 Market Cap: $65,858,745,207
The Culture and Language Barrier
Author: Miss Purple
I would like to start by reminding us all that history is unchangeable; in the same breath, we cannot deny it for what it was. European colonialism and its long-lasting impact on Africa has already happened. We cannot undo that part, but we can do better; we can learn from it, work to stop the currently existing forms of it, admit its truth and its consequences, and evolve from that mentality. With this editorial, I seek to explore the biggest barrier for many Africans who are trying to assimilate into this new economic revolution. I ask only for your openness and willingness to change the status quo.
Have you ever walked into a room/Discord server and realised that none of the people in that room/Discord server were like you? It felt daunting, like you didn’t belong, or the pressure was now on you to reinvent the perspective of the masses. If you have no idea how to relate to them, you would be deemed ‘unimportant’, negligible even. I fear for the African people, that this may be our yoke to bear, that because the majority of the Web3/blockchain space is so heavily ingrained in other cultures that are not ours, we will be left out in the cold when it comes to innovation on this frontier.
Historical Context at Play
Contextually speaking, Africa is a melting pot of culture, with over 3000 recorded unique tribes and 2000 languages & dialects. This means that the fact English is a global language only scratches the surface for us. From Lesotho to Ghana, from Ghana to Ethiopia, from Ethiopia to Mali, to Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, and so on, we recognise English, but it is not our first language.
Understandably, tech space contributors have for the past decade mostly been Euro/American-centric, meaning English is the most commonly used language in those circles, ergo the innovations tend to come out of that space. This also means the work culture — and the value that is placed on certain activities outside of work — is almost completely different from that of the more Afro-centric communities. This is not to say that the innovating communities do not have their own valuable cultural practices, because they do, however they exist in a space that has given them — most of them at least — the freedom to practise and participate in the act of their cultural expression without much judgement.
At least twice a day, I listen to a Twitter space or podcast of some sort, and one thing remains constant, there are more white male voices out there than any other voice. Now they aren’t all bad, but it does make it difficult for me, as a black woman, to pluck up the courage to talk in a Twitter Space of that sort about a project that I am building with other black and brown women; one would say why try when those people are clearly not even the target market, and to that I say we hear them everyday, surely asking to be heard in our truth is nothing more than equal respect in action? Truthfully speaking, I guess we couldn’t expect anything different, because how many black women would the space expect to understand writing and reading a smart contract? How many black and brown women receive the same kind of support for their NFT projects as other groups, regardless of their potentially outstanding offerings? Not many if any; again, this is not a targeted comment to any one particular person, in fact, no singular living individual can be pointed out as the reason for this disparity, but if the shoe fits…
The assumption that black and brown communities don’t have much to offer in a DAO/NFT community is utterly, completely false; it is what I would like to call the learned sidelining of an entire continent and its people.
It is true that Black people across the globe have unique historical issues and problems , however, I refuse to believe that there is absolutely no value for the rest of the world to gain from hearing our perspectives of OUR truth. What I mean is, Africans, on the continent and in the diaspora, deserve to be seen, heard, and given platforms to express and innovate without being forced to assimilate or exist in a specific way.
Being a person of African descent while trying to break ground or teach your fellow kinfolk in this decentralised frontier should be easier because of the borderless, non-discriminatory attitude that is said to be encouraged, but even that is not enough when the interfaces of the websites, the jargon that is used, and even the proposed applications of some of these innovations, are all geared away from possible language variations and do not encourage instructional tutorials for people who may still be on a learning path.
So, What Then?
The advent of a blockchain-driven community is here, and although it could have a lot of positive impact for the global community — particularly African communities that need access to systems that put the people first — there is an unfortunate amount of education and unlearning that would have to take place for all of us before a larger scale adoption. But unlearning at what cost? What would it take to develop innovations that take into account the variety of languages that exist on the African continent and around the world? What would it take to give people the option, as Del Titus Bawuah says in our latest BanklessAfrica podcast episode, to be themselves in a world that has for a long time worked to eradicate our stories as Black and Brown people? I think it all starts with understanding that the uniqueness of our stories is a ripe opportunity for Africans to teach the world how to relate to us, for us to learn how to intersect our ‘ancient’ technology with the newer more modern technology. I think it requires a meeting in the middle — of the African minds and of those considered to be the more prominent innovators of today.
We are at the cusp of something great. It would truly be a shame for Africans to be left out because of cultural or linguistic differences, or because the rest of the world may stand to gain more from limiting our access than celebrating our success. It would be a shame for Africa to once again just be on the consumer end of the final product, versus contributing as vibrant, equal creators in the new economy.
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📰 News & Opinion In and Around Africa
South African NFT Platform, Momint, Turns $1.2 Million 1800s Krugerrands Gold Coins into Fractionalized NFTs
Author: Kodzilla.
Momint, an NFT platform in South Africa, has decided to turn the Krugerrands Gold coin that was used in the 1890s into NFTs. Their intention is to help people that buy Momint NFTs with an extra protective layer for their wealth, to act as somewhat of a savings against the rampant inflation in the country.
The NFT is said to be valued at $1.2million, which most people will of course not be able to afford, but Momint has decided to fractionalise it, that is, divide the NFT into smaller ones (there will be 1,510 of them) which will make each one cheaper with a range of $200 - $1200.
The Krugerrand coin was issued by president Kruger in the 1890s and history has it that it was the only coin that survived the times and continued to grow in value.
Over 13m Nigerians Hold Cryptocurrencies, Says UN Report
Not minding the Central Bank ban on cryptocurrency activities in Nigeria, the percentage of citizens who own crypto in their portfolio has grown to over 13 million in 2021, keeping Nigeria 3rd on the list of African countries that have adopted crypto.
As of April 2022, a total of six banks in Nigeria were fined up to N1.315 billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for not complying with the CBN ban directive in the 2021 financial year, by allowing their customers to continue carrying out cryptocurrency transactional activities.
The UNCTAD has come to the conclusion that the use of stablecoins stands to affect different economies with regards to the dependency, circulation and therefore performance of the local currencies, especially in the developing countries. They have planned to tackle the use of crypto through tax impositions in a bid to discourage crypto trades and transactions.
Digital Platforms to Empower 10,000 African Startups
Author: Getrude Mbago
Humanity Node Protocol, Web3Africa and Adanian Labs are partnering together to empower 10,000 startups in Africa. This will be done by creating a digital community where young Africans, including entrepreneurs, can build innovative technologies and businesses using blockchain technologies as their baseline.
According to the African Startup League, the initiative will allow 10,000 African owned enterprises to compete for a grand prize of $1million, while providing them with the required tools and resources to enhance their businesses and therefore monetize their ideas.
Marcus Dukes, the founder of Humanity Node Protocol, also added that 300,000 African investors will be issued 300,000 Humanity NFT on or before August 8, through the course of the project.
South African exchanges welcome the new ‘crypto is financial asset’ ruling
Author: Gareth Jenkinson
In the next 18 months, South Africa’s Reserve Bank will start with the implementation of cryptocurrency regulation; they will be treated as financial assets with many local and international exchanges driving mass adoption in South Africa.
Over the years, there have been no clear regulatory frameworks put in place by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) until recently. The South African crypto space has been developing organically and has seen a wide range of adoption by over 6 million estimated South Africans.
These regulations will need Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) to have Financial Service Provider (FSP) licences, making it much easier for citizens to know that the platforms they are using are trusted and licensed to provide the services they are providing, this will go a long way in securing users & preventing them from becoming victims of cyber attacks.
Central African Republic set to launch Sango bitcoin sidechain
Author: Osato Avan-Nomayo
The Central African Republic (CAR) is planning to launch an extension of their Sango Project by developing a "Sango coin". It is said to be a 21 billion unit token, set to be a central HUB for their crowdfunding initiatives, distribution processes and community support.
It was also stated that the country might tokenize their mineral deposits using the coin.
According to the white paper published on the Sango project, the Sango coin will run as a private Bitcoin side chain (which will be their own chain, yet to be developed) instead of settling transactions on the Bitcoin network itself, which would not give them autonomy.
Just like other cryptocurrencies, the coin will function as a form of digital ‘money’, to allow multiple kinds of transactions; when users deposit BTC, they will be able to mint the Sango coin and trade s-BTC (Sango Bitcoin) on sango.
The conversion between s-BTC and Sango will be automated; if you wish to withdraw your funds, you will have to trade back into s-BTC. It will have a 21 node validator for better transactions which will then be controlled by elected officials.
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