Africa seems to be the region where Bitcoin can make a significant impact in the coming years, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Things seem to be evolving in the right direction in the region, though, as it has become easier to send cryptocurrency on goods and services.
Overcoming The Bitcoin Mental Hurdle
Although there are a lot of people in Africa who see the benefits of Bitcoin, very few people are actively embracing the cryptocurrency right now. Most of the things people can buy with Bitcoin are to be found cheaper anywhere in the continent which is not exactly solving a problem. After all, who would go out of their way to buy Bitcoin and pay a fee when buying the item with fiat currency is cheap and can be found next door?
Despite the opportunity to buy Amazon gift cards with Bitcoin, there is no real use for that service either. Very few Amazon sellers ship to Africa and that situation will not be changing anytime soon by the look of things. Moreover, there is no such thing as finding an address in Africa, as very few addresses have house numbers, making shopping all but impossible.
Luckily, there is a solution in place, called Aramex. Very few people in the Western world will have heard of this service, as they specialize in forwarding mail to other countries. Moreover, they provide receiving addresses from 15 countries, and they ship to 62 countries around the world. This is particularly useful when buying goods that are only available to a particular region in the world.
Although Aramex does not accept Bitcoin payments for their services, it opens up interesting opportunities for people globally. Consumers can now use Bitcoin to pay for items all over the world, and have it delivered to their home through Aramex. Particularly useful for some parts of the world, whereas the Western world may not benefit from this business model much.
It remains to be seen if this type of approach can make an impact in Africa over the coming years, and what it will do for Bitcoin adoption. This mixture of services is kind of interesting to keep an eye, though, despite consumers having to jump through various hoops to buy goods on an international level and sell them locally.
Source: Let’s Talk Bitcoin
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