Bitcoin introduced into Africa’s largest slum, with risks and rewards

Dotting the roadside in what is widely considered Africa’s largest urban slum are typical stands selling vegetables. What isn’t typical is their acceptance of bitcoin as a form of payment.

Around 200 people use bitcoin in Soweto West, a neighbourhood of the Kibera slum in Kenya’s capital. It’s part of an initiative to extend financial services to one of the country’s poorest and most under-banked areas.

Its promoters say



the adoption of crypto fits with the ideals of bitcoin as an accessible, democratic technology — but experts say it also has major risks. Bitcoin came to Soweto West via AfriBit Africa, a Kenyan fintech company, through its nonprofit initiative to improve financial inclusion.

“In many cases, people in Kibera do not have an opportunity to secure their lives with normal savings,” said AfriBit Africa co-founder Ronnie Mdawida, a former community worker.