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121 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 15 Jun
Afribit (featured in the video) is evaluating the Tollgate (bitcoin-enabled) Wi-Fi hotspot, as another method for residents to earn in bitcoin:
https://tollgate.me
#991732
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 15 Jun
Here's additional coverage on this, from The Independent:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/africa-largest-slum-now-takes-104828441.html
#1001491
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21 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b 15 Jun
Is 'slum' just cool to say? Feels kind of rude imo.
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100 sats \ 2 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 15 Jun
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.
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110 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 15 Jun
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.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 23h
in the states saying someone lives in a 'slum' or 'ghetto' is generally seen as condescending. i appreciate the detail, thanks.
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26 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 11h
Inspiring video. This is what it's all about.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @seashell 8h
it's good to see how they’re not just using bitcoin but actually building with it, creating these local feedback loops that might actually outlast fiat messes. feels like it’s less about the tech now and more about the trust forming underneath. if that trust holds up when things get rough, this could really stick.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 8h
When living hand-to-mouth, even for the merchants, when any funds come in, they go straight to where they are needed most. So for a merchant that accepts bitcoin, having the ability to also spend in bitcoin themselves saves having to convert to fiat. Though not all their vendors and staff are accepting bitcoin yet -- so the merchant will sometimes need to convert to fiat. But, in Kenya at least, there are ways that is done effortlessly and inexpensively (e.g., with Tando -- which converts sats to mobile money, instantly).
With this ecosystem, there's no risk to the merchant in accepting bitcoin, and they have the growing bitcoin community within their area as patrons. The flywheel spins, needing less and less "grease" over time.
There's something else driving this. In the informal economy, merchant revenue transactions don't always get (i.e., almost never are) reported, many don't even have a KRA PIN (Tax ID number) for their business. That means that there is no "value added tax" (VAT) paid to the government either, nonetheless income tax.
There is a renewed push by the government to force this "informal economy" to buy and use the government mandated terminals that track revenue, to ensure that VAT (Value Added Tax) is getting paid and tax compliance can be monitored.
When the tax collectors visit (literally, quite often, resulting sometimes in violent pushback) cash in the register is at risk of being taken. So bitcoin provides another benefit -- revenues, with little to no physical evidence, even when the taxman makes a surprise visit.
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @spiderman 21h
Positive development, if it is sustainable.
I am genuinely curious about the price discovery mechanism in these Bitcoin economies. Are prices denominated in sats? Or in the Kenyan dollar and they convert on the fly, which I imagine would be very volatile?
All we need is the circular economy to survive a bear market, till the next halving. If it does, I suspect no participant will accept anything but bitcoin.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin OP 16h
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).
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 15 Jun
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