The Africa Bitcoin Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from December 9 – 11, 2024. To further engage with the crypto community and the other delegates attending the gathering, Yellow Card, a provider of secure, liquid, and cost-effective access to Stablecoins and other popular tokens, hosted an evening side event. Called “After Hours with YellowCard”, the session sought to delve into the intersection of innovation and financial inclusion in Africa’s crypto economy.
Chris Maurice, YellowCard’s co-founder and CEO, used the session to provide the audience with highlights about the firm’s recent fundraising milestone and how it plans to utilize the raised funds to drive economic empowerment in Africa. Maurice also the session to offer insights around ‘Barriers to Entry in African Markets: Navigating challenges and unlocking opportunities,’ and ‘Yellowpay: Transforming cross-border payments for individuals and businesses across the continent.’
And over an interview with the media, Maurice (pictured) took the opportunity to point out the firm’s current challenges as well as identified opportunities in various African markets. Below are excerpts from the interview:
QUESTION: Tell us more about Yellow Card and your presence here.
CHRIS MAURICE: It’s great, man. This is a great country. We’re doing well here. Yeah. I mean, I think you know, the industry as a whole is just absolutely booming right now.
Yeah. And, you know, Kenya is no exception. It’s one of the most, how do you say? One of the, one of the top countries in the world for adoption of this technology. So I think, you know, overall, it’s, it’s going really well.
Things have been, I mean, just really good the past couple of months. I’m sure you guys have seen all the news and everything going on. And so, yeah, you know, Kenya is no exception to any of that. Okay. Okay.
Q: Let’s focus on the future of crypto, especially in Africa. How does it look like in your perspective where crypto-currencies may be in terms of adoption in the various markets you’ve ventured into or visited?
CM: I think there’s a reason as to why 6 of the top 20 countries in the world for adoption of this technology are African countries. Right? It’s because, you know, this technology solves real problems for real people. It solves problems for businesses, which in turn solve problems for people.
There are, you know, just a lot of problems that this technology promises to fix that are very prevalent across the continent. You have issues with the financial infrastructure as it exists today. And so I think, you know, the future is bright.
But, you know, even beyond the future, the present is bright. It’s not just a future technology and future potential. It’s a right now technology and happening right now. And so, right now in Africa, you have more adoption of this technology than any other part of the world, including Europe.
It’s a technology that the continent is really leading on. And so I think, you know, the future is very bright for the adoption of this technology because it’s already being adopted. We’re seeing it in real time.
Q: Looking at the legal perspective, I saw you’ve been granted a license in South Africa. You are looking for licensing Nigeria. Do you think African governments are receptive to this technology and its potential?
CM: Some, yes. Some are still working on it. Some, like South Africa and Botswana, have done a very good job in developing regulatory environment. We have licensing for both crypto assets. I think that Nigeria and, you know, the work that the SEC has been doing, especially under the new DG, has been very promising for the industry.
This is an industry that’s brought in $1 billion of investment and capital inflow to Nigeria. So it makes sense that they’re, you know, so hyper focused on making sure that it’s successful.
What I always encourage, anytime that I’m working with regulators, with presidents, with central banks, and anybody else is, this is an industry that can bring a lot of money into these countries. A lot of hiring, a lot of investments. And so it makes perfect sense for the broader economy, for currency stability, for all of these things, to really invest in putting together a supportive framework in place.
And so, there are good examples of this on the continent, like I said, with Botswana, with South Africa, with some of the stuff that Nigeria is trying to do through the SEC. It’s important that work is continued upon and more countries adopt the technology.
Q: So as a follow-up to the above question, what kind of lessons can Kenya and our regulator learn from those countries you’ve mentioned? What lessons can we pick?
CM: The biggest lessons that should be learned is that this is an industry that can help tackle some of the biggest problems in the country. Some of the problems with unemployment. Some of the problems with youth employment, specifically.
Some of the problems with currency stability, with foreign investment are being tackled by this industry in practice in Nigeria, South Africa, and other parts of the continent. And so I think the important lesson is the need to enact policies that keep people safe and protect the people.
Obviously, that’s the job of the government and the regulator. But it’s also important to encourage this industry to grow here for foreign investors and local companies. There’s a lot of companies in Kenya that are growing in this space, and the government should be encouraging them to continue to grow.
It should be encouraging other companies to come in and continue to grow, to hire locally, to build locally, to do all of that locally.
Q: There’s always the issue of crypto-currencies vis-a-vis illicit financial flaws (or what we call money laundering). What are your comments on this?
CM: I think at this point, pretty much all of these countries that we work in, and us included, work with Chainalysis or Elliptic. And by working with Chainalysis or Elliptic, what these companies do is they’re able to trace transactions on the blockchain. They’re able to trace activity on the blockchain to ensure that money is not flowing from or to an illicit source.
So when somebody does a transaction on the Yellow Card platform, for example, we have blockchain screening. So we know that the wallet that you’re sending to is actually a legitimate wallet. It’s not some money laundering front for North Korea or something like that.
And so, it’s important that companies are screening for this stuff. And the big thing that I would like to point out is that governments are also working with these guys. It’s not just companies working with Elliptic. It’s not just companies working with Chainalysis. It’s also governments.
These guys are already able to trace this information. It’s much more transparent than the conventional financial system.
And there’s a big misconception that crypto opens up opportunities for illicit flows. The truth is that the easiest way to launder money is through the banking system. The easiest way to launder money is in cash. It’s not Bitcoin. It’s not stablecoins.
Q: Hopefully, there has been a push, especially in Kenya. So, what can the government and regulator do, what platforms can they lay so that the industry can adapt to those in the future?
CM: The big thing is, I don’t think nor believe that crypto and stablecoins, and any of this technologies, are here to ever replace the Kenya shilling. I think the shilling will continue to exist and be a vital part of the Kenyan economy. And, you know, same with other local currencies in other countries.
The important thing is that stablecoins and Bitcoin, more broadly, can replace the very heavy dependence on the US dollar that a lot of countries face today. And, you know, the reality is that a lot of countries around the world have been screwed over by dollar dominance. They’re screwed over from a currency standpoint, from a monetary standpoint, from an import-export standpoint. This has given so much power to the US dollar.
The current system gives so much power to the dollar that it makes it very difficult for a lot of countries around the world to continue to operate and be stable and have a stable economy. Unless of course you have say $1 million and $1 billion flowing in daily and monthly. And so, in the case of countries like Kenya, where you need more inflows, crypto is the perfect technology for that. Bitcoin stable coins are the perfect technology for that. Stablecoins are bringing in $1 billion into these economies, and bringing it directly to the people.
The technology is solving a lot of the problems that people face every day. And so it’s a technology that people should be encouraging and that people should be promoting the adoption of, rather than fighting against.
Q: Going back to adoption, where do we lie as a country?
CM: If you are to rule a data-powered continent, I think that there are some things that could be done better. I think that the mistake that Kenya has made historically – for the last, like, couple of years now – has been trying to tax the space before regulating the space. And the problem is that there are not really many companies to tax. I know a lot of people that are operating in this industry in Kenya, but the problem is a lot of them are doing it underground, mainly because there are no clear regulations.
There are no clear regulatory guidelines. And so it makes it very hard for companies to be able to operate here in the space. Look, I understand the government wants to tax it. We get taxed by every government on Earth that we’ve operated within. So I get it.
The problem is not necessarily taxing it. The problem is that if you’re going to tax the space, we need a clear regulatory framework to operate within and guide the industry. And I think that it’s very important that the Kenyan government moves to regulate the space and promote the industry so that more jobs can be created, more money can flow in, as well as more investment.
You know, important imports can continue to be facilitated. And then we can have a conversation around issues. Like Now that we have an operation here and now that this is a formal industry, what makes sense from a taxation standpoint?
However, all of that being said, I think that Bitcoin going up is good for the entire industry. And moving to issue of the White House in the US, having a crypto friendly and a digital asset friendly White House is going to be good for the industry worldwide in my opinion.
We’ve had conversations with different parts of the African Union around us. The AfCFTA is a historical agreement. The reality is, however, that a lot of countries in Africa don’t trade with other countries in Africa. For example, Nigeria’s two largest trading partners are Spain and India.
And so, the thing is, the AfCFTA is a very powerful agreement. However, it can only be successful if virtual assets, if digital assets, if blockchain technology, are successful as well on the continent because you need those payment rails between countries to really be able to facilitate trade.
And the reality is that right now, if I wanna send money from Nigeria to Ghana or Nigeria to Cote D’ivoire, it’s extremely difficult. It’s very expensive. There’s not really a good solution for it. And, you know, stablecoins and virtual assets really help solve that problem. And so I think the African Union, from the highest level, should be doing more to promote digital currency and the role that it can play in facilitating AfCFTA transactions.
Q: What can you highlight as your major milestones since the company was founded and your future plans going forward?
CM: The big things that I would point to are fundraising rounds. The revenue milestones we’ve hit, the volume milestones we’ve hit. I mean, you know, we did nearly $3 billion in transactions this year. We’ve raised another $33 million in new investment round this year.
So I think those are the things that really point to not just our success, but more broadly, the success of this industry on the continent. This industry is working on the continent. It’s bringing a lot of money in. It’s bringing a lot of jobs. It’s bringing a lot of investment.
And I think it’s important that the regulations continue to follow that.
In the coming 5 years, I think that we’ll be able to see how this technology will have largely, largely helped to really improve the operations of companies and a lot of economies on this concept.
Right now, you have so many countries that are so dollar dependent and virtual assets is a path away from that strict dollar dependence. It is a way for this money to be able to flow freely into the economy. It’s a way for investment to be able to flow freely into the economy for jobs to be created, for imports to be facilitated, for medicine, for food, for other important objects.
I’m the biggest proponent of this technology and the possibilities it brings.
Q: So if I can take you to the next questions, what are the priorities and objectives of the recent $33 million funding round?
CM: Yeah, the $33 million raised. The big thing that I would like to point out is that this money is going towards growth. That’s growing the team, growing revenue, growing volumes, growing all of that.
The biggest benefits of the use of this technology is that you have the financial freedom that your parents and their parents never could have imagined. For the first time in the history of a lot of countries, people have the ability to control their own money, to control their own destiny, to save against inflation, to do all of these things. And the youth are benefiting in terms of jobs, the youth are benefiting in terms of the companies that they use every day becoming cheaper, products becoming more affordable. Imports becoming more affordable.
There are a lot of benefits to the broader population. And the opportunities for partnerships for various service providers.
Q: Which type of ventures or partnerships are you looking forward to, to continue enhancing your growth and also for the payment space?
CM: Yeah. Coinbase has actually partnered with us. So we work with Coinbase on the continent. We work with Block. We work with PayPal. We work with a number of companies on this technology.
I think it’s important to provide access for people across the continent to help businesses operate more effectively on the continent. It’s also important to bring major companies that want to invest in the continent to come in and be able to do business here.
So, we’re bringing companies here that are hiring here. That are investing here, that are hiring young people, putting more money into the economy, growing the overall pie for everybody.
Q: What is your advice for any young Kenyans or green Kenyans – in regards to crypto – in the future of crypto? How would you advise them to invest?
CM: My advice is very simple: It’s that you’re not too late. I think a lot of people look at it, they look at the price, they look at this, they look at that, and they think like maybe it’s too far. You’re not too late. We are still at the very beginning of this technology.
I mean, this is like imagine if you could have invested in Microsoft 25 years ago. Imagine if you could have invested in Nvidia or Apple or any of these other stocks that are doing unbelievably well now 25 years ago. You’d be a billionaire. That’s true. What I mean is, it’s like this is the very beginning.
Of course nobody’s gonna be rich overnight. That’s not how the stuff works. But the reality is that if you are investing in this industry, if you’re working in this industry, if you’re putting your effort and time into this industry right now, over the long term, over the course of your life and your kids’ life, all of that is going to pay out very well in future. This is a new technology that’s ready to go.
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