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- Hoskinson expects IOG’s African workforce to grow from “dozens to hundreds” while 4 or 5 new headquarters will be established.
- The IOG CEO predicts that the “Miracle of Africa” will make China’s rise as a world power look small.
The long-awaited keynote by IOG CEO Charles Hoskinson at the “Blockchain Africa Conference 2021” took place earlier today. Although the “big announcement” the community was anticipating was absent, Hoskinson provided some interesting views and targets for Cardano in Africa. He began his speech by outlining the vision of making “the worlds poor enjoy the same wealth as the rich” and giving them economic identity.
To achieve this, IOG is building a decentralized financial system on Cardano that can unite the world’s economies. That way, the “geographic lottery” that keeps some people “perpetually poor” will end while they can be in full control of their money and their future.
Cardano (ADA) is tied to Africa’s future
As Hoskinson revealed, IOG opened its first office in Africa in Ethiopia two years after the start of the construction of the Cardano protocol. After building many local relationships, training staff, and overcoming obstacles, the platform is at a turning point on the continent, Hoskinson said.
Things that we thought would happen sooner have taken longer (…). We are on the cusp of deals and initiatives this year that will bring millions of users, through public and private partnerships, into the Cardano ecosystem.
Hoskinson is one of the proponents of an idea, to make Africa’s wealth liquid. In this way, the people of the continent will be able to access all its riches and exploit its potential. Despite its disadvantages, IOG’s CEO believes that the continent can take advantage of the innovations offered by Cardano:
The bridge in human capital has occurred (…). In that awakening, that gap is a market for new systems. (Adopting a new system) will result in a great competitive advantage for the nation that adopts it first. The first countries to make national elections online will likely be African nations. The first to have an end-to-end digital identity and economy, there is a lot of potential for them to be African nations.
IOG is committed to seizing this opportunity for the benefit of the people of Africa and Cardano’s growth. The platform developer will look to fill the “void” for a new system and expand its operations on the continent, Hoskinson revealed:
This is not just a goal, it is something we are investing heavily in with partners like IceAddis who give us access to entrepreneurs in over 25 countries in Africa. In the next 5 years, our staff in Africa will grow from dozens to hundreds, if not thousands. Instead of having one headquarter, we will probably have 4 or 5 across the continent. For example, we’re already starting building a campaign to build up resources, access and personal in the country of Ghana. I will also try to do the same in places like Rwanda and so forth.
IOG’s CEO also revealed that the Prism team, working on a Decentralized Identities (DID) solution, will expand from 12 to 30 people. They will then be able to bid on and seal flagship contracts. Currently, some of these contracts are being finalized, and will bring millions of people onto Cardano.
These will stabilize as the foundation on which we will be able to do business with dozens of entities in countries, both public and private.
More details on IOG’s projects for Cardano on the continent will be revealed in the “Africa Special.” For the time being, the roadmap envisages the next 3 to 5 years. IOG’s CEO concluded by predicting that the “miracle of Africa” will make the emergence of China as a world power look small:
As a result, it is the greatest systems achievement in the last century. Improving everyone’s lives and reducing everyone’s problems. It’s very exciting to be here and to be part of these events and to see the launch. In a very short period of time we will announce an Africa Special and we will be able to show everyone the different programs, pilots and projects and partners and the vision that we will be investing in for the next 3 to 5 years.
