Unpacking the Potential of Blockchain and Infrastructure in Africa

The vast swathes of Africa's fertile lands may ultimately prove a central arena for the ground-up development of innovative digital infrastructure and green energy projects.

The continent's population has soared past more than 1.3 billion, which accounts for roughly 17% of the world's population and is mostly comprised of young people, with two-thirds of the population below the age of 24.Such a bulge in the youth of Africa has helped fuel the fastest-growing mobile market in the world, but one that still lacks a robust financial infrastructure.

The opportunity for Africa lies directly with the ability to potentially leapfrog an entire generation of financial and energy infrastructure - a luxury that countries in the Western Hemisphere lack.

According to the African Development Bank report, "Financial Inclusion in Africa," the leading prohibitive factor in more robust financial infrastructure is inadequate access to financial services.

The move coincides with a growing influence by China in Eastern Africa, which has been pouring money into building transportation and energy infrastructure.

Today, China is the largest financier of Africa's infrastructure.

The takeaway is that there is palpable interest in investing vast sums into Africa's development, and blockchain technology is a common thread in many instances.

Energy demands in Africa far exceed supply, especially in countries like Nigeria.

In 2005, he founded the Made In Africa Foundation, an organization he has guided to fulfill his dream of bringing systemic infrastructure change to Africa.

Today, he is CEO of Kamari, a blockchain project looking to build an ecosystem of mobile gaming and payments for one billion people across Africa.