Leading global bitcoin marketplace Paxful hopes to drive entrepreneurship in the bitcoin economy.
– Paxful has +2 million users globally; South Africa is one of the top markets for Paxful internationally.
Statistics South Africa on Tuesday announced that the unemployment rate has seen its highest increase since 2017. Alarmingly, the youth unemployment rate remains at an all-time high of 55.2%. Leading global peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace, Paxful is passionate about entrepreneurship and driving education around the use of bitcoin-for-business with the youth. Paxful is currently in South Africa trialling one of the biggest giveaways of bitcoin at three universities across the country.
AFRICA MUST TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BLOCKCHAIN ECONOMY
The aim of the drive is to encourage entrepreneurship in the bitcoin economy and to educate the youth of today about how to use bitcoin.
After a bumper trading year in 2018, Paxful, is continuing their mission of facilitating financial inclusion around the world. Through interactions with customers, the company has gained valuable insights on how consumers are evolving their use of digital currencies, with bitcoin becoming more mainstream in everyday lifestyle and business transactions, rather than investment or speculative trading.
Despite the fluctuating bitcoin price, the marketplace has seen significant growth in digital currency transactions on the African continent in recent years, with the surge largely spearheaded by students and graduates under 25. “Africa leap-frogged to the forefront of peer-to-peer finance adaptation. In 2018, our user base in Africa doubled, with most customers being between 18 and 24,” said Artur Schaback, COO and co-founder of Paxful.
NURTURING YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP, ONE BITCOIN AT A TIME
To increase access to the bitcoin economy for many more youths on the African continent, Paxful launched a series of educational workshops across Africa in 2019. This education initiative has currently kicked off in South Africa and Kenya in May, with Nigeria,Ghana and other African countries are on the cards for later in the year. The workshops will cover the very basics about bitcoin for novices and further expand on innovative use cases and business applications observed around the world.
“As a values-driven company, we want to make the bitcoin economy accessible for everyone, especially the youth. To this end, we would like to reach as many young people as possible to help them understand the digital currency market and transact safely and with confidence. Our aim is to continue to partner with customers and other key stakeholders to ensure they are well informed about the opportunities presented by peer-to-peer finance,” stated Ray Youssef, CEO, and co-founder of Paxful.
This latest initiative forms part of Paxful’s proven commitment to education, which includes building schools in East Africa under their #BuiltWithBitcoin charitable initiative, as well as providing scholarships to young women in the Middle East. The company aims to build 100 schools across Africa and expand their scholarship programs.
The first leg of the tour kicked off on the 13th of May 2019.
MAY 2019 CAMPUS TOUR DATES
SOUTH AFRICA
Wits University
Date: 13 May 2019
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Venue: Wits Clubhouse, West Campus
UCT
Date: 15 May 2019
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Venue: The New Lecture Hall, Upper Campus
Stellenbosch University
Date: 17 May 2019
Time: 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Venue: VV Hall, 1st Floor, The Neelsie
KENYA
Date: 23 May 2019
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Venue: Nairobi Cinema
For students from Nairobi University, Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Catholic University of East Africa, Strathmore University, Multimedia University, Zetech University, Technical University of Kenya, and Kenya Methodist University.
