FTX and AZA Finance are collaborating to support the growth of Web3 in Africa

FTX and AZA Finance are collaborating to support the growth of Web3 in Africa

Crypto exchange FTX has partnered with Africa-based AZA Finance to expand Web3 and digital currency adoption across the continent.

AZA Finance, a financial technology company focused on payments and foreign exchange products, has launched Africa's first digital currency exchange. It has expanded to 10 African markets to date and has conducted more than $250 billion worth of transactions worldwide in around 115 countries and 300 currency pairs.

With the acquisition of South African payments company Exchange4Free last year, AZA Finance became the largest non-bank currency exchange provider in Africa.

“For nearly nine years, we have been building out our infrastructure across the continent into Europe and the Middle East, welcoming some of the largest customers in the world,” Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO of AZA Finance, told Blockworks.

“For the first time, we have a partner of this size who wants to work exclusively with us across the continent and open up new markets together with us.”

An FTX spokesperson said initial priorities in Africa will be developing fiat on-ramps, securing local licenses, localizing its current offerings, fiat liquidity and customer support.

FTX and AZA Finance will work together to connect African markets to the Web3 economy by building infrastructure and educating local users, the companies announced on Wednesday.

The companies are also trying to make African currency deposits and withdrawals easier on FTX.com, and they plan to launch African currency and digital currency trading pairs.

Most stock exchanges in Africa don't offer many liquid stocks, Rossiello said. As more investors look for alternatives, FTX offers NFTs as well as tokenized stocks and other tokenized assets that are not readily available on the continent.

“African customers can access these products by going through multiple counterparties,” Rossiello said. “But to have a direct-to-user experience really requires a real effort from the platform to invest locally in customizing the product suite and working with local regulators.”

pent-up demand

Africa has a growing middle class of digital natives who have been using mobile money for a decade, Rossiello explained.

According to the Brookings Institute, the continent's population will double by 2050. Two-thirds of population growth will occur in urban areas, with a workforce that will already be among the largest in the world by 2030.

The region had almost half of the world's mobile money accounts in 2018 and will see the fastest growth in mobile money by 2025 Brookings Institute report found.

“This is where the investors of the future come from, and I think it’s kind of silly to dismiss platforms that invest in digital currencies as pure speculation,” Rossiello said. “This is actually how young people are investing today, and by young I mean anywhere from 15 to 45.”

The growth of NFTs

FTX and AZA Finance will also focus on bringing African NFTs and artists into FTX’s NFT marketplace.

The crypto exchange first revealed plans for its NFT marketplace in June and launched it later in the year.

Rossiello said the NFT community on the continent was “shooting mushrooms,” but noted that artists and creators did not have a platform that offered them liquidity in local currencies.

“Africa has been excluded in many ways from many financial services and infrastructure around the world, whether through risk mitigation or other global policies,” she said.

“So we’re just part of the movement of fintechs and homegrown companies focused on not allowing this to happen for Web3.”

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The post FTX and AZA Finance Collaborate to Support Web3 Growth in Africa is not financial advice.