Nigerian crypto platform Busha is eyeing the West African market on the back of stronger retail demand for daily shopping and remittance using the digital assets.

The platform has amassed over 500,000 users in the country so far. Plans are underway to venture into Ghana, Francophone West Africa, and Kenya to launch remittance services.

“What this means for us is that we can open up our inter-Africa remittance service,” CEO Michael Adeyeri told Nodo News. “It means you can go from Naira to Kenya shillings to Cedis, all using crypto.”

Crypto users in Africa are adopting digital currencies for utilities, Adeyeri observes. “On this side of the world, a lot of people use crypto for something, either remittance or trying to pay for something,” he explains. This is different from the developed regions where cryptocurrency is held for speculation purposes.

As a result, Busha introduced a new product, Busha Spend, to create mobility around cryptocurrency. With Busha Spend, users can buy products such as data and airtime credit from a preferred network provider. Busha handles the conversion. Busha Spend service is found within Busha’s wallet.

“The utility aspect of it sort of limits why people are holding a very little amount of crypto in Nigeria or Kenya,” he states. Adeyeri also reveals the company will launch Busha Commerce later in the year. The service will allow businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments on the platform.

Overcoming Regulatory Challenges

Africa has started acknowledging the need for the regulation of cryptocurrency though it has come with hurdles. Countries like Nigeria have outrightly pushed banks not to engage with cryptocurrency entities, although dealing in cryptocurrency is not explicitly illegal.

While countries like Cameroon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and the Republic of Congo have outright bans on crypto, at least two-thirds of sub-Saharan countries have some form of crypto regulation, according to a report the IMF released last November.

Moyo Sodipo, the Chief Product Office and Chief Operating Officer at Busha highlights the lackluster reception to the Central Bank Digital Currency, the eNaira.

“The only thing that is similar to stablecoin and not getting a lot of prominence in the Nigerian market is the eNaira which was issued by the central bank,” Sodipo states. “There isn’t any utility for it at this point. People will rather use USDT, USDC than deal with the eNaira.”

Nigeria’s CBDC was introduced in 2021, as an alternative to physical cash. However, its adoption has been wanting. As of Oct. 2022, only 0.5% of Nigerians used the eNaira. This is compared to over 10% of the population owning cryptocurrency.

“Hopefully the governments in Africa will catch on and come on board,” Adeyeri concludes.