The World Bank estimates that the Zimbabwean diaspora spends up to $90 million in remittance costs.
The use of cryptocurrencies is increasing all around the world, but Africa has been an area with a high level of acceptability, at least among its inhabitants. Despite the fact that countries such as Nigeria were protesting against the usage of cryptocurrencies, Zimbabwe has reopened its doors to the new technology.
Mthuli Ncube, the country’s finance minister, was recently visiting the DMCC Crypto center in Dubai, where he was intrigued by methods to reduce the cost of remitting cash. Ncube stated,
“I visited the DMCC CRYPTO CENTRE in Dubai, which is a fascinating incubation hub for cryptocurrency and payment solutions. Came across solutions that could lower charges for diaspora remittances.”
This was not the first time the finance minister had shown support for cryptocurrency. Ncube had asked residents to “invest in understanding emerging inventions like bitcoin” a few years ago, and he also advised authorities to follow in the footsteps of countries like Switzerland, which were “investing in, and understanding bitcoin.”
While such pronouncements from authorities were welcomed by some in the crypto community, others questioned the minister’s tardiness. Flexfintx CEO Victor Mapunga reminded the minister that Zimbabwe already has a slew of blockchain and crypto start-ups.
“We already have blockchain and crypto companies in Zimbawe such as @Flex_Tx, work with local players.”
Many others agreed with the CEO in the comments area, and some said that the country should do more to promote its crypto firms, especially because Zimbabwe was the hardest afflicted by inflation.
According to the CATO Institute, South Africa saw monthly inflation of more than 50% in 2007, before falling to an annual rate of 89.7 sextillions in November 2008. Zimbabwe’s high inflation rates persist, and cryptos appear to be ideal assets for storing value in the country’s inflation-prone economy.
Even as the number of crypto investors in Zimbabwe increased, not everyone thought it was a good idea. On Twitter, Senator Jopa Sayeyo stated,
Perhaps the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe [RBZ] may explore cryptocurrency once banks stop manipulating the foreign exchange rate. Otherwise, the ZWL [Zimdollar] will drop dramatically.
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