Why Building for Young People is Important for Africa's Bitcoin Adoption

Currently, Africa is regarded as the "Youngest Continent in the world" because over 60% of the entire continent's population are aged below 25. This holds great potential for harnessing human capital and developing a futuristic workforce that would build the tools and technology of tomorrow. However, Africa's young generation still faces a major problem: Access to RELIABLE financial services.

As a young African who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, I was only eligible to own a bank account at the age of 16, well into my 2nd year in college. The account also had several limitations (as it was a student account) including earning and spending limits, access to FOREX and so on. I started coding and freelancing at the age of 19, and as a result I could not use my bank account to make and receive International payments from clients.

Like me, there are millions of young people across Africa who are rising in the digital age, becoming digital nomads and earning a living off the internet, but regulations and government policies have made it difficult for these young people to properly earn.

This is one of the problems we seek to address with Pennybit.

We believe that the playing field has changed and young Africans need to be able to access critical and reliable financial services now, not later.

With Pennybit, we're building a platform that enables young Africans as young as 12 years old to create a digital bank account, make and receive payments and also learn a bit more about Bitcoin. We are also seeking to push the knowledge of the revolutionization of money to these young people through Pennybit.

We hope to leverage the opportunity of this hackathon to make as much progress as we can in building out this solution for the next generation of Africans.

Cheers to Hacking ✌🏼