Quote from: Nhebu on June 19, 2019, 10:56:15 PM

In Africa, most entrepreneurs do not have access to formal banks and venture capital in the first place. They often lack access to financial markets and financial instruments such as savings, credit and insurance, which would enable them to engage in economic activity and help their countries achieve sustainable financial growth. Good thing is that they have an access to mobile phone. This will increase financial access to those who would otherwise be completely excluded from the traditional banking system for example, those working in the informal sector, in villages, or who have too little capital to make formal banking a feasible option.

On the topic of lacking the capital to start enterprises, there are some foundations/companies which are offering "microloans" for small businesses in the developing world. While it might be difficult for them to access financial institutions, there's got to at least be one enterprising citizen within the African continent who will try to expend those services to the more rural portions of their country as well.

While I don't know what the level of communication infrastructure is in Africa, I feel that Bitcoin would be offering a unique solution for entrepreneurs who want to develop their country's financial infrastructure. While security is always a concern, the lack of a tangible good (cash) helps to move in secrecy and improves personal security. Credit and savings operations could be maintained by the same individuals who run the Bitcoin "banks", and as long as they don't commit the same sins of fractional reserve banking everyone can prosper. It might be a very slow "industrialization" of Africa, but I'm sure that more advanced infrastructure can slowly be developed and branch from the existing major cities.

If you are interested in the concept of microloans, the one website which I have found to be pretty good is kiva .org. It might be worth looking into it as a means of supporting the developing world and getting a small return in the same beat. It's better than Bitcoin loans in terms of repayment (assuming the ~97% repayment statement is factual), at least.