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From one generation to another, Africans have mastered and passed down the magical skill of storytelling to preserve heritage and keep the experiences of forebears alive.

In today’s evolving, tech-saturated world, our stories are taking on wider, bolder arcs as young Africans all over the continent step out of stereotypes to create, build, and inspire.

One major landmark of Africa's Web 3 revolution is the timeline between 2020 and 2021 which saw over $105.6 billion in cryptocurrency transacted.

As grassroots adoption in the region skyrocketed, it was only a matter of time before the spotlight began to rest on African Web 3 projects and their contributions to development using blockchain technology.

The year 2023 wrapped up with Bitcoin regaining its reputation as a store of value amid failing ventures, tensions all over the world, and fraud.

The ripple effect of this price surge in Bitcoin is a prediction of one of the biggest bull markets the crypto landscape has ever seen. For 2024, this article briefly curates three promising Web 3 projects to watch in 2024.

ONBOARD

Under the auspices of Yele Badamosi’s Nestcoin, Onboard Wallet is bringing self-custodial to Africa by presenting a safe wallet that allows users to store and manage digital assets without going through standard middlemen channels.

The wallet is designed to provide users with a much easier method of sending funds independently of exchanges in smooth, seamless user experiences.

As of writing, one of Africa's biggest hurdles when it comes to crypto transactions is overdependence on the famous peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace due to settlement delays by fiat on-ramps.

Ideally, fiat on-ramps provide instant settlements but have failed to deliver due to harsh regulations on crypto in the continent.

With Onboard Direct, this Web 3 project is gearing up to tackle all pain points with unique wallet addresses bound to user bank accounts, allowing the fiat equivalent of any asset sent to these wallets to arrive in bank accounts. It’s a simple and efficient solution that is sure to get more attention as the year unfolds.

AFROPOLITAN

Afropolitan captures the heart of a good African story; starting as Pan-African Network State committed to improving the quality of life for 1 billion Africans. Founded by Nigerian visionaries, Eche Emole and Chika Uwazie, this Web 3 wonder kicked off with festivals and events for Africans in the diaspora.

This project found the limelight with their 2019 party for over 1.13 million visitors to Ghana which exceeded expectations.

After halting all plans in the worldwide pandemic of 2020, Afropolitan continued to expand frontiers; first with their 50,000-member community for black people and then their Afropolitan Citizens NFT collection which earmarked the project's exciting Web 3 journey.

The Afropolitan mission is simple. The network state hosts an ecosystem model to accommodate its rich pool of black and African stories, capital, gifts, and culture.

This pool is accessible to Africans and Africans in the Diaspora through AfroPass, a web application launched on November 12, 2023.

By providing a seamless solution to the problem of international payments while users visit other countries, Afropolitan paved the way for itself to partner with 38 events in Nigeria and Ghana during festive periods.

Why is Afropolitan worth watching? Their gated community and NFT collection hold high appeal for a lot of creative, innovative black minds, making it a potential contributor to crypto adoption in 2024.

EJARA

While Ejara is more of a Francophone Africa project in the Web 3 space, this article will curate this innovation as number 3 on our list due to their impressive approach to challenging the aftermath of political instability.

In the face of economic sanctions and other adverse economic developments, Ejara presents an alternative to indigenous financial institutions using blockchain technology.

Given their mission to make saving and investment products accessible to all, the project has launched high-yielding interest accounts that can buy and sell cryptocurrency for local fiat.

After raising $8 million from Dragonfly and Anthemis in Series A Investment, the Cameroonian company is setting plans in motion for fractionalized shares and a fusion of the U.S. market with crypto markets.

CONCLUSION

The future of Web 3 in Africa is marked by a transformative shift driven by innovative projects that continue to spring up around the continent. Notably, Onboard Wallet aims to revolutionize crypto transactions by providing a self-custodial solution, addressing current challenges.

Afropolitan, with its Pan-African Network State, creates a rich community accessible through AfroPass, potentially influencing widespread crypto adoption.

Ejara, focusing on Francophone Africa, seeks to overcome economic challenges by leveraging blockchain for accessible saving and investment products. These initiatives collectively signify a promising trajectory for the integration and growth of Web 3 technologies in Africa.