While the potential impacts of corporate partnerships, NGOs, venture capitalists and Blockchain protocols aren't to be downplayed, the government remains an important actor that can stimulate or impede the emergence of Africa's Web3 economy. So far, however, governments across the continent seem to generally view cryptocurrencies with a healthy dose of skepticism.

The Nigerian government is one example. In February 2021, the country's central bank sent out a memo — an act that created quite a bit of chaos in the country and undoubtedly drove users underground, away from formal cryptocurrency exchanges and into peer-to-peer transactions — noting:

While Nigeria is illustrative, it's hardly unique. Indeed, according to the U.S. Library of Congress, as of November 2021, cryptocurrencies were banned, explicitly or implicitly, in approximately one-half of all countries in Africa.

Worth noting here are the words of acclaimed University of Nairobi professor of entrepreneurship Bitange Ndemo:

Nevertheless, despite a somewhat hostile, or at least skeptical, attitude towards cryptocurrency trading and ownership in many countries across the continent, an increasing number of governments have been more open towards other applications of blockchain technology, particularly central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Nigeria launched its e-Naira in October 2021, South Africa is participating in the Bank for International Settlements’ multi-CBDC experiment Project Dunbar, and Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Madagascar, Mauritius and most recently, Uganda are all actively researching digital currencies backed by their respective central banks.

As more governments across the continent explore blockchain-based solutions, even if just limited to CBDCs, one view is that they’ll be increasingly likely to develop a more informed approach to the Web3 economy along with policy frameworks that are more in line with the needs of everyday users. While this remains to be seen, such optimism is welcome.