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Africa, the world’s second-largest continent and home to more than 1.6 billion people, is still a developing country when it comes to technology adoption. For the most part, people in Western countries are more familiar with technological advances than people in Africa.
However, cryptocurrencies are nothing new in Africa. Since Bitcoin’s rise to prominence, many of Africa’s younger generations are turning to cryptocurrencies as an alternative source of income.Many still struggle to understand the technology that makes it work. has become widespread due to the fact that it provides a means by which you can earn immediate profits.
The same trend has led to the widespread adoption of NFTs, especially in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. Nonetheless, NFT adoption in Africa suffers from a number of issues that affect adoption rates and usability within the continent.
The rise of NFTs in Africa may be related to the rapid rate at which Africans adopt cryptocurrencies. in 2021 reportChainanalysis estimates that cryptocurrency adoption in Africa increased by 1200% between July 2020 and June 2021, making it the fastest adoption rate in the world.
Coincidentally, this was around the same time that NFTs were in the mainstream spotlight. In December, digital artist Mike Winkelman achieved record sales for his NFTs, and the buzz successfully drew attention to his crypto art. The fact that one person can earn as much as $69 million from selling digital art has gained attention around the world, especially in Africa.
However, Africans did not turn their attention to digital art as quickly as other continents. This is because many people still do not understand. Fundamental technology behind NFT Or how you can profit from it. Therefore, when cryptocurrency activity took place on a large scale, NFTs still lagged behind. However, the continent has caught up with notable NFT collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) to record price spikes in a short period of time.
The popularity of NFTs has grown rapidly for young people without sufficient employment opportunities or means to make money, but many who jumped into the field did so for speculative reasons. They traded on the belief that they could realize more money in the next month or in a short period of time than they would have bought an NFT.
Today, Africans are taking a deep dive into NFTs and are doing so for different reasons than just reselling for profit. As blockchain technology penetrates Africa, it has become clear that you don’t have to be tech savvy. Benefit from a decentralized economy.
Similarly, people have found that creating NFTs is not as complicated as they thought.Therefore, recent Investigation According to Finder, Nigeria ranks 6th in the world and South Africa as the 12th largest adopter of NFTs in the world.
In April 2022, a group of Ghanaian pallbearers who went viral in 2020 as internet memes capitalized on their fame. The group’s leader, Benjamin Aidoo, Selling Viral Coffin Dance As an NFT of 372 ETH ($1,046,000 at the time). NFT sales to date remain the highest in Africa.
A few days earlier, on April 1, in neighboring Nigeria, Adisa Olashile, a mobile phone photographer who mints and sells her work as NFTs, posted on Twitter a photo he had taken of an old drummer. did.he Said He planned to mint the pictures and sell them as NFTs, giving the elderly drummer 50% of the money.
Soon after, the photographer revealed that he had sold his photos on OpenSea. 0.3 ETH each, equivalent to over 1 million naira.he followed this shared video his give a guy 50% of your money, the old drummer took it with amazement and awe. As expected, the kind gesture generated a lot of buzz on social media.
While many appreciated the photographer’s selflessness, a few others wanted to know how to hop on the NFT train. Since then, conversations about his NFTs have exploded astronomically on Nigerian social media spaces, as many have sought to profit from the space.
Since the rise of NFTs, waves of digital artists have emerged across the continent. Many hope to sell their art worldwide. Digital artists have been around for a long time in Africa, but using NFTs as a medium is still a relatively new and growing field.
For the most part, it was only available to artists who were technically inclined and understood how to cast their work. and the remaining artists still rely on traditional art galleries for their sales.
In 2021, as one of Africa’s leading digital artists, Oshinachi Igwegarnered media attention after him We sold $75,000 worth of NFTs in just 10 days. Prior to achieving this feat, the Nigerian visual and digital artist had his work cast in NFTs, dating back to 2017, after traditional galleries refused to accept his work due to its nature. Instead of using traditional artistic methods, Osinachi uses Microsoft Word to design his art.
Osinachi’s success story adds to the list of successful African artists with NFT. Africa now has several digital artist communities for African digital artists. Examples that can be cited include African NFT Community, Black NFT Art, Network of African NFT Artists, Afro Future DAO, NFT Club in Kenya, and His NFT Community in Nigeria. These communities help raise awareness about digital art, foster collaboration, share resources, and host events.
Despite the innovative nature of NFTs and how they make the world borderless, African Digital Artists Still Face Certain ProblemsThe first is that the market is still a problem. While a few digital his artists are participating, his NFT collectors in Africa aren’t enough. To a large extent it does not exist. This is exacerbated by the fact that: Low support for African NFT artists compared to other artists. African artists are therefore left with the only option of offering their art in the hope that international collectors will purchase their works.
Coupled with market issues, there are also economic challenges. Publishing on most NFT marketplaces often requires exorbitant gas fees. This is a challenge given the prevalent financial problems in most African countries and the large disparity between local currencies and the dollar. Therefore, this discourages many up-and-coming artists from interested in his NFTs.
Like some other countries, African countries have not been kind to the use of cryptocurrencies within their jurisdiction. I am warning the public. recently, Crypto trading is prohibited Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon all have some form of ban on crypto trading.
NFTs are traded using the native currency of the blockchain where they are hosted, making it difficult for NFT enthusiasts in countries that are restricted or banned to easily transact. , financial institutions Limited You are prohibited from performing crypto-related transactions and are obligated to close any account operated thereon. This has led users to use peer-to-peer platforms to carry out their trading activities.
Despite government restrictions that have affected the use and trade of NFTs in Africa, NFTs continue to blossom on the African continent. Not only does it provide a platform for African artists to sell their art, it also serves as a livelihood for thousands of people across the continent.
But NFTs not only bring opportunity to the continent, they can do much more for the continent. In parts of the world where property ownership is still manually verified, the use of NFTs can go a long way toward ensuring transparency and authenticating ownership. By their very nature, NFTs are unique and traceable. Thus, not only is ownership status retained, but a curious person wishing to find the owner of the property can find him or her in no time.
Similarly, projects emerging from Africa show that NFT adoption will gain even more momentum in the coming years. Projects like NFTfi, Ubuntuland, AJE: The Afriverse is a pioneer when it comes to using his NFTs in Africa. As time goes on, more projects will emerge with the potential to revolutionize Africa and its people.
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*All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFT PLAZA are based on the personal research and experience of the site moderators and are intended for educational material only. , the product should be thoroughly investigated.
A blockchain maximalist who believes the future we are heading for requires technology. An avid researcher and writer who uses his writings to inform the prospects of his blockchain space.
