A Pan-African crypto exchange, Mara has said blockchain technologies are capable of creating jobs and bringing innovation that will help the country solve problems.
Chief Executive Officer, Mara, Chi Nnadi, made this disclosure at a media session with journalists in Lagos.
Nnadi said Mara is about building an ecosystem for Africa, saying: “We also have to build the infrastructure for people to actually use this technology. Exchanges have been around for a while but exchanges have focused on getting Bitcoin.”
He said: “With Mara, we want to build a foundation where people can learn, where people can get into crypto and then people can learn how to build their own projects. Building your own projects is an important thing because that is what differentiates us from an exchange that is what makes us a legal system.”
Nnadi said what Mara is building currently has the potential to transform the continent. Mara is an African owned company.
Speaking on its acceptability of cryptocurrency in Nigeria, the Mara CEO noted that efforts were being made through communications with the relevant regulatory authorities to ensure that all the identified loopholes are covered and well attended to.
He said: “What we are doing is painting a picture of what Nigeria, Africa could look like in five to 10 years but we need to build the base, the foundation for crypto to thrive in Nigeria. That is why we start with Mara, how people learn what smart contract is, how people learn what blockchain technology is and how people buy their first bitcoin.
“What we are starting is a movement and how we can build Africa for ourselves. The technology that people are all talking about has the greatest utility here in Nigeria. There needs to be an exchange, blockchain, ecosystem builder that wants to bring in developers, have them build these tools, help them bring capital from all over the world, help them get their apps to other Nigerians, Kenyans, Ghanaians.”
