Here is all that happened at Technext Coinference 3.0

At Technext Coinference 2023, with the theme, Disruptive Tech: New Frontiers, New Opportunities, key stakeholders and enthusiasts of the African crypto ecosystem converged in Lagos for a series of conversations on how to chart a path forward at a time of great upheavals in the region.

Africa has been hit harder by the crypto winter when funding has declined. This is in conjunction with its own self-inflicted wounds with African countries having no clear crypto policies. Even in countres where there are, the policies are usually negative and anti-crypto. This makes the situation even more dire.

Chris Ani, the founder of Daba School who gave the first keynote speech called for a more robust adoption of crypto in Africa. Ani, himself a long-time advocate for crypto adoption, highlighted the possibilities that crypto as a regulated and licensed open-border payment system will bring to Africa.

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“Imagine for a moment the entire landscape of Africa; Nigeria to Kenya to South Africa, Lagos to Abuja. There is a need for us to do business across these countries and states. Imagine that we have a technology that is beyond the Internet, and can connect us and value can be transferred without the need for a central bank,” he said.

Referencing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ban on crypto activities in 2021, the crypto industry leader said it was a shame that somebody could wake up one day and decide what happens in such a big industry without recourse to conversations.

“In 2021, someone just woke up and banned crypto. This is why once the police check your phone and see crypto buying and selling, either on a crypto platform or even a WhatsApp group, they will say you’re a Yahoo boy, even when you have never done Yahoo before. If you ask they will say crypto has been banned by the government and anybody doing crypto is a criminal,” he added.

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Yele Bademosi, the CEO and co-founder of Nigerian blockchain company Nestcoin spoke about the importance of the blockchain in creating broader financial services and giving Africans new opportunities to participate in the global financial markets.

“Your geographical location should not determine the financial services that are available to you,” Bademosi said.

The session, a fireside chat titled “Building Africa’s next blockchain unicorn: wins, challenges and opportunities ahead,” moderated by Technext’s Business Chief, Anderson Ozakpo, comes at a time when funding for the crypto ecosystem has practically dried up and prices of assets have been quite erratic.

“There is still a lot of hope and that is why we are still having conversations at events like this,” Ozakpo assured.

Even at this time when funding has been stunted, Bademosi is optimistic about the future of the ecosystem. For him, the marker of hope is in the valuation and utility of the industry and the assets.

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“The price is the indicator of value,” he said. “Africa is responsible for 3 per cent of the blockchain global market.” This contribution underscores the importance of the region at a time of grave economic upheaval. If you look at AI and ChatGPT, the truth is that decades ago, we had what was called the AI winter when funding for the ecosystem all but paused,” he finished.

During another panel session titled “The Future of Entertainment with NFT and AI,” Ebenezer Ugo Akachukwu, an artist and Web3 specialist, Venn Oputa, the co-founder of Afrobubble, Malik Afegbua, the CEO of SlickCity Media and Paul Okeugo, the President/Founder of Chocolate City Media group emphasized that AI and NFT have significant roles to play in the entertainment industry.

The discussion dwelled on AI and NFT, two hugely disruptive technology trends, and how they transform the entertainment space. Eclipse Nkasi recently made the headlines for leveraging AI technology to create an afrobeats music album within three days. Nkasi’s project joins the growing trend of people using AI for tasks including content creation and filmmaking.

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Paul Okeugo of Chocolate Music said that he welcomes the growing trend. “I embrace AI mainly because it can transform the music industry,” he said.

On the issue of responsible AI, Malik Afegbua of SlickCity said that AI is a tool that can be used for good or evil purposes like deep fake audio. How it is used matters, he noted. Proper regulations along with increased awareness can help tackle the issue of people using AI for the wrong reasons.

“NFTs will help to prove ownership and help creators protect and democratize the spread of their content,” Venn Oputa of Afrobubble explained.

Other keynote sessions included "Blockchain and the future of payments in Africa," by Ruth Iselema, the founder of crypto startup, Bitmama.

There was also a panel session on "The future of Payments in Africa," with Ogochukwu Umeokafor, Director of Product Management at Yellow Card, Olubunmi Fabanwo, the Affiliate Program Manager at Binance Africa, and Miray Ozel, a co-founder at investment platform CENOA on the panel.

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There was another session on "Making money with gaming" with Adora Nwodo, the founder of NexaScale, Shola Edu, the founder and creative director of Deluxe Creation Studios, Kunmi Adepenigba, founder and COO, Gamr and Judith Okwonkwo, the founder of Imisi3D as panelists.

There was another session on "Crypto beyond buying and selling" with Ugochukwu Aronu, the founder of Xend Finance, Chuta Chimezie, the founder of BNUG, Obinna Iwuno, the president of Siban, and Seun Dania, the founder, TradeFada as panelists.

Finally a session on "AI and Blockchain: Opportunities today and tomorrow," with Obi Emetarom the founder, Zone App, David Abu a Cloud Advocate for Microsoft, Ayo Awosika, the founder of Web3 Bridge and Emmanuel Ebannehita the CMO at Fuse on the panel.

Source: Legit.ng