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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 8h \ parent \ on: A Financial Revolution in Kenya’s Largest Slum | Firstpost Africa | N18G bitcoin
Prices are going to be in KSh -- the local currency (Kenyan shillings). Usually, at checkout the final total from the register/terminal is entered into whatever bitcoin merchant payments/wallet is used (e.g., Blink wallet), which converts to sats and an LN invoice is produced.
https://www.blink.sv/en/merchant-tools
If this is done with just a bitcoin wallet (e.g., Wallet of Satoshi, or Machankura), then the merchant converts, using an exchange rate app, first to USD and then to sats. The buyer then sends to the merchants Lightning Address, or scans a QR code (e.g., zero-value LN Invoice, or scans the QR generated for the transaction from the merchant's wallet).
Afribit (featured in the video) is evaluating the Tollgate (bitcoin-enabled) Wi-Fi hotspot, as another method for residents to earn in bitcoin:
Also, not all impoverished area housing groups are slums. Slums geneally are where the residents have built homes and businesses on property without having the permits and property titles. For instance, on property adjacent to a rail line, owned by the railroad for future development. Because the residents could get forced out at any time (likely without much or any "compensation"), the residents don't invest in a properly built house -- and instead are built essentially using just some rough timber and sheet metal, and maybe a few blocks at the base to keep the water out when it rains. There's no water service, no ability to put a water tank on the roof even, no sewer, and not even real drainage for rain runoff.
Like "Informal settlements" is cooler? Or, "impoverished area"?
So, ... slum isn't a "cool" name, it's just what they are known as.
A leading radio station, whose studio is essentially at the border of the slum in the video above, even goes by the name Ghetto Radio.
Looks like they are doing trash service at each house now too (or maybe they always did, this is the first I've learned of this).
Afribit ( https://geyser.fund/project/afribitkibera ), for example, not one gets merchants signed up, and wallets in the hands of the community, but also helps fund some needed services. The absence of structured waste disposal in much of Kenya has led to widespread normalization of littering -- particularly so in the slums. Afribit pays (in sats) for workers to collect trash from the streets, gutters, and some collection points, and also helps to educate as to why littering harms the community.
As far as questions or feedback, I don't think @geyserfund itself has that, at least not beyond you being able to add a comment when contributing. You could include your contact info, to hopefully permit a direct response.
336 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin 10 Jun \ parent \ on: Africa’s largest slum now takes Bitcoin bitcoin
Machankura is a custodial LN wallet that uses USSD, meaning it can be used by any phone, including "candy bar" phones (feature phones) -- which can be obtained brand new for $12 (at the low end).
Also, phone plans are not like in the West. Airtime is generally purchased with "bundles", or plans where you can choose the plan based on how closely it matches your usage.
For instance for $0.15 you can buy 20Mins (outgoing voice) +20Mbs (data), for use for one day. Incoming calls and texts are free, so it isn't even required to buy the plan each day.
Most people with smartphones though are paying $20 to $40 / month, mostly due to social media addiction (only half joking there).
And there's the buy now, pay later model for smartphones, where payment is required daily. Fail to pay, and your phone becomes locked until payment is made.
Overindebted? There's what's essentially an overdraft facility, with steep payday loan rates.
Incidentally, the government of Kenya owns more than a third of the near-monopoly mobile network provider which also owns and operates the mPesa mobile payments network. It's a very profitable business. Mobile subscribers are paying fees coming, and going, while awake and asleep.
Got me excited there for a moment ....
That's for their treasury operations, and not for consumer payments. Still interesting, but not something I wasn't already assuming they were doing.
This publication has a proper title for their article:
Killed by police
"Police gave a laughable explanation in a fruitless cover-up after a youthful Kenya died in their hands hours after arresting him"
This is the correct answer.
Am using bitcoin more frequently than I did the previous month, which was more than the month before that, and so on. Because these involve custodial exchanges and wallets, probably not a single on-chain transaction was the result, at least not for my spending alone.
Additional Infographic based on this report, here:
These Are The World's Biggest Shadow Economies
#995258
Less commonly used, but significantly less expensive:
Non-custodial, KYC-Free, LN-based gateways that use LN:
Kenya: Tando.me
Tanzania: Chapsmart.com
Ghana: Bitspenda.app
Thailand: Plebqr.com
Brazil: Nostrpix #894453
Mexico: https://www.swapido.com/en
Users can access Machankura by dialing a USSD code which varies per country. When you dial the number for the first time, a bitcoin wallet that is tied to your phone number is instantly created for you. You are required to create a PIN that will encrypt your wallet and will also be used to confirm all future transactions on Machankura.Once your wallet has been created, a lightning address is generated for you using your phone number. For example: 256234567890@8333.mobi. You can also change this to a username of your choice e.g machankura@8333.mobi. Anyone can send you bitcoin on this lightning address. You can also send bitcoin to any user’s address.
https://8333.mobi/faqs <-- Under How does Machankura Work section
The absence of almost any regulation previously cause many exchanges to stay completely out of Nigeria, and many of those that took the risks have suffered due to selective enforcement of money laundering regulations (e.g. Binance).
At least now there's a path to follow:
Heritage put it best when asked about the outlook for Nigerian Bitcoin builders, “these are necessary growing pains if we're truly committed to transforming how Africans send and receive value globally.”
The author of the article did mention that:
For Bitcoin entrepreneurs in Nigeria, the Act is a welcomed change. However, sentiment is split evenly between relief and trepidation from the potential negative consequences introduced by the (mis)classification of Bitcoin as a security
or maybe the lack of reliable exchanges there.
Bingo -- at least for BTC/CFA via Lightning.
Bitnob just expanded support for CFA:
#962393
https://bitnob.com/blog/send-and-receive-xaf-xof-currencies-using-bitnob
Another government-affiliated agency champions a payment method, and suppresses competition. Said payment method gains share and network effects result in it having the power of a monopoly. Then raises fees, adds taxes ... and bleeds the citizenry dry!
But they are getting revenue they likely otherwise would not have gotten, and that revenue generally has mostly profit as marginal expense on the revenue is minimal. That could help subsidize R&D or production systems that expand their green energy footprint. Or not, who knows. Bitcoin mining doesn't exist to serve the green energy industry.