If there's something that affects us very badly as Africans, it's the fact that sending and receiving money is a dilemma. Except you are earning in foreign currencies, the exchange rates will roost you and your family first before you can support any of them outside the country or even do business. I don't want to talk about the part where you can't get a job that pays in foreign currencies and legitimately own an account that allows you to receive payment. These restrictions placed all of us on the map of poverty until the rest of us found Hive.
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When I read that Chipper Cash, an Africa-focused fintech company laid off 15 staff after several layouts in the last couple of months, my heart skipped a beat. I did not read till the end because I dropped my phone on impulse and started thinking that they could be on the verge of going under because it feels really difficult to run a business that targets the problems we are facing as Africans - Sending and Receiving Money.
A lot of payment platforms and portals have outrightly said they weren't interested in doing business with us because we have a history of fraud and the rest of the negative financial connotations that come with being an African.
So it wouldn't come as a surprise to me if one of the companies that tried to bridge that gap for the rest of us are finding it difficult to stay afloat thus the need for layoffs. Even though they may not come clean about the reasons for the layout, I have a good feeling that the good financial statements the blog buttered up to make the company look strong are just a front. I am not pointing fingers it's just that I have a lot of friends who have tried their hands on several online money-making platforms, and it seems as though if the payment options don't include cryptocurrency, their chances of getting that job and receiving payment are slim. It doesn't matter if they all have the skills and talents to do a better job.
It's no wonder a lot of them seek to relocate to countries that support the skills and talents of their people. The different restrictions they face when it comes to earning a living make Japa (* leaving the countr*) an enviable position for the youths and older folks who still have the strength to work for a living. A few months ago, I read that a lot of professionals who studied professional courses like Medicines, and pharmaceuticals, including bankers are leaving the country in a hurry. Hospitals and other establishments are losing good staff as the day goes by.
In any case, even in the midst of the turbulence we are facing, quite a good number of us who have chosen to embrace Blockchain and learn about its technology while earning the tokens associated with it seem to somewhat be in a good place at the moment. Cryptocurrency has made it possible for us to go by and the fact that we are earning in foreign currencies is a plus. Some of us are able to provide for ourselves, our families and still be able to hodl a few tokens as we wait for better days in the form of bull markets and certain positive market fluctuations.
Truthfully, if not for cryptocurrency, my country would have gone under too, if that's even a thing. Like businesses go under, cut back on staff, and the likes, cryptocurrency has made it possible for the people in my country to not reach for a knife in broad daylight and tear the next person apart in order to feed. And I am hoping that in the near future, our government will come to their senses, lift the bans, and allow the growth cycle that cryptocurrency has to offer. This way, poverty and every other negative term that comes with a bad economy and inflation will be a thing of the past. Will it ever happen? Maybe! Maybe not.
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