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Kioneki Profile picture
Kioneki
@pesa_africa
Click my bio link for more
2 subscribers
Jul 22, 2024 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This week I received a death threat from some people in my circles for trying to arrive at the truth regarding irregular financial transactions. I am sharing this tweet here in case something happens to me, you know where to look. Follow the money trail. What is even more disheartening is that the death threat occurred in a forum organized by a law firm and 3 lawyers who kept quiet throughout the whole affair and did not bother to check the utterances of the gentleman.
Jun 2, 2023 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
The Central Bank of Kenya 🇰🇪 @CBKKenya says

"Implementation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) may not be a compelling priority in the short to medium term" /1 In addition

"Kenya's pain points in payments could potentially continue to be addressed by other innovative solutions around the existing ecosystem" /2
Jul 4, 2022 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Some thoughts on the effect of the sweeping tide of digital currencies on economies of East Africa from my current research ... The East African community member states are at risk of dollarization from

- digital currencies issued by sovereign states eg dollar stablecoins, Digital Yuan, Digital Euros

- non-sovereign digital currencies like bitcoin
May 30, 2022 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
In my experience there are 3 broad mindsets that require interventions in order order to develop and accelerate crypto/web3 in key African markets.

- learner mindsets
- builder mindsets
- investor mindsets a learner mindset is walking into crypto & trying to make sense of it. Can be a student/professional banker/ a policy maker.

This state is transitory, b/c the initial mindset may be learning but the end goal may be to invest or build (an app or policy) or invest (in crypto)
Mar 20, 2022 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Some advice to crypto companies trying to grow markets in Kenya and East Africa 🌍, there is no winning if your approach is just selling crypto for your own business pipelin agenda.

What is required is a neutral, ecosystem building approach. A neutral brand. I am happy to support ecosystem building/ accelerating initiatives.

But if you asking me to add value to your business agenda - that's a wholly different conversation
Mar 18, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This week my African crypto / fintech people are in Dubai. My guess is they all probably exploring Middle East to Africa corridor financial outflows (remittances), inflows (e-commerce) and crypto licenses in Dubai 1/ 1) Lots of Africans working in Middle East send money back home to family

2) Lots of African merchandise purchased from Middle East to resell / final use

3) Dubai is positioning itself as home to crypto ventures (and startups too)

Did i miss anything else? /2
Mar 6, 2022 • 23 tweets • 4 min read
I wish more people realized the current political crisis of digital currency is only the beginning of a multi-year trend of technology fragmentation based on political ideals.

Right now it's digital currency.
Next year it will technology platforms like Facebook and Android I am most excited by the implications for Africa b/c Africa 🌍 is a net consumer of technology.

This means Africa is best placed to adopt a diversity of technology/ digital currency with allegiance to no one.
Feb 13, 2022 • 38 tweets • 8 min read
There are several ways to think about Cross border payments in context of Africa 🌍

1) Between African countries
2) Between Africa and off shore countries
3) Between Africa and the virtual world It is my opinion that 3) cannot be addressed by African local currencies. Only foreign currencies like USD stablecoins or cryptocurrencies
Feb 11, 2022 • 23 tweets • 6 min read
Today I purchased a newspaper for the first time in 5 years to read about the @CBKKenya plans to issue Kenya shillings backed Central Bank digital currency

ICYMI ⬇️ Call me a cynic, but, I don't see the point of a CBDC for a country with real time payments (mobile money and bank payments)
Feb 8, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
A quick test on hiring for early stage start-ups is to ask potential hires to put together a half-page work plan to manage a defined project.

Work plan has

- Date
- Task/actionable
- Status (complete, ongoing)
- Outcome If you cannot communicate a projects, (any project for that matter) in this fashion you are too much work to manage / you require handholding / not cut out for startups

😐
Dec 12, 2021 • 22 tweets • 6 min read
⚡️Crypto regulations are coming to key African markets THREAD

⬇️ What follows explains why I expect a shift in balance in crypto transactions - from decentralized 🔜 centralized - backed by findings ❌ In the past 5 - 7 years, banking and mobile money gateway restrictions stifled certain crypto business models at the benefit of others
Dec 11, 2021 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
💯 A great source for crypto African products / features from @TheDFSLab ‘s blockchain bootcamp cohort 1

🤩 Here is a short list of my favorite picks and why

medium.com/dfs-lab/result… ✅ @joinstax - offline crypto and DeFi / crypto assets on USSD with SIM card security (key pairs like native crypto)

@bmlyon you have a great foundation for crypto !
Oct 24, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
What's next in web 3?
Africa 🌍

Africa was never part of all the technology narratives that shaped the web & internet pre-Android & smartphones

That's about to change now that Africans too are part of the web.

Web3 has a place for Africa to participate and shape the future Imagine all the bias built into the web & internet infrastructure b/c Africans were never co-participants in designing the web?
Oct 6, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
How much funding is going into African Crypto & Blockchain startups?

Looks like crazy volumes of VC capital is flowing into Crypto blockchain startups in the rest of the world apart from Africa... My guess is financial services related use cases rank high on the list: payments, cross border, trading & speculation etc

Central Banking regulations is still the bottleneck b/c of formal fiat rails which caps possible products and impedes onboarding
Oct 5, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
“A recent NielsenIQ study revealed that nearly 7 in 10 consumers around the world have changed the way they buy categories and brands as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.” “A majority of consumers now find themselves with less money to spend and an abundance of caution around spending it. the study highlights that 73% of consumers have experienced a recent shift in their personal financial situations, to varying degrees, since September of 2020”
Oct 4, 2021 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
I cant help obsessing over @fonbnk1 The FIRST
DeFi App that converts prepaid mobile airtime credits into money for mobile users in Africa and Latin America #unlockyourpotential Image I learnt about @fonbnk1 from my time at the just ended Stellar DFS lab African blockchain bootcamp. I was paired up with @cduffus as his coach and mentor Image
Sep 21, 2021 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
European Football NFT Platform Sorare Raises $680M Series B

Sorare says it’s traded over $150 million worth of digital cards on its platform since January and currently has over 600,000 registered users coindesk.com/business/2021/… Sharing this b/c Africa is a huge market for sport betting millions of users accessing bets via USSD, Smartphone App, Web App, SMS and Agent services

Betting companies are succesful post revenue technology startups b/t few will admit it
Sep 20, 2021 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Regulation by Central bankers in hot African fintech markets is a market variable you have to work with / around / find loopholes. It is not a constraint that VCs or entrepreneurs can "wish away"

Lets not be naive

True of crypto as well Wizaj, VP at Chipper Cash, African Fintech w/ $150million+ funding in 3 years was quoted saying

"40% of Chipper cash staff count is legal and compliance people"
Sep 14, 2021 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
Fuel prices going up in Kenya 🇰🇪 is an opportunity for alternative energy products - solar, ethanol, hybrid taxis... you name it!

This crisis is paving way for the business success stories of tomorrow Severals example from Kenyan Uber drivers

1. more drivers are considering alternatives such as LPG Pro-gas which retails ~50% vs petrol (70kes vs 129kes). Some drivers have modified vehicles to cater for proGas compatible engines
Sep 13, 2021 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
E-commerce in Africa is growing & evolving, however, it’s taking place in different forms & channels; a significant amount of transactions are taking place 'informally' on digital channels such as Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook, Websites, SMS, Voice calls, etc. Via @AfridigestHQ “I believe e-commerce is just in its first iteration and I, therefore, hold the view that the question’s assumptions are mistaken. E-commerce is inevitable but its characteristics in Africa will look quite different than that of the US or Asia.”
Sep 13, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Where can i find a list of USSD services offered in Kenya 🇰🇪 or East Africa ? Like a compilation of all public/consumer facing USSD codes such as

- betting
- financial services
- ecommerce
- health
- surveys etc Im trying to gauge the user experience of USSD across different services...

Any links to research, blogs or articles welcomed