VenturesNow

Like El Salvador, Central African Republic passes law to make Bitcoin legal tender

Published

3 years ago

April 25, 2022

The National Assembly in the Central African Republic has passed a law to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. Thus, going the way of El Salvador who became the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as legal tender on September 7, 2021.

The country’s minister of finance and budget, Calixte Nganongo, along with Gourna Zacko, minister of the Digital Economy, Postal Services, and Telecommunications, initiated and introduced the legislation establishing the legal framework for cryptocurrency regulation in the Central African Republic, as well as Bitcoin as an official currency.

One of the main knocks against cryptocurrency has always been that it will never gain universal adoption, meaning its usefulness will always be limited.

The law to make the digital currency legal tender in CAR was unanimously supported by the National Assembly to assist the country’s economic recovery and peacebuilding efforts.

The recent move by CAR is against odds, particularly in Africa where some governments have decisively frowned at the use of digital currencies. For instance, in Nigeria, in February last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed all banks to desist from transacting in and with entities dealing in cryptocurrency. The bank also directed banks to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions within their systems.

Will other African countries follow the path of CAR to adopt cryptocurrencies? Time will tell.

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery exports first fuel to Cameroon

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria said on Wednesday that it had exported its first petrol to Cameroon, marking a significant milestone that may help stabilise gasoline costs throughout the region and open the door for regional energy integration.

When fully operational, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s 650,000-barrel refinery in Lagos is intended to alter the trade of refined products in the Atlantic basin and compete with refineries in Europe.

According to a statement by Neptune Oil, an energy company based in Cameroon, both businesses were looking into new projects to create a dependable supply chain that would assist in stabilising fuel costs and opportunities throughout the area.

According to Neptune Oil, there were no middlemen involved in the petrol delivery deal.

It is anticipated that the refinery’s operations will spur growth in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, increasing investments in cement manufacture, plastic and rubber production, chemical and pharmaceutical goods, and oil refining.

VenturesNow

Egypt’s November inflation drops to 25.5%, near 2-year low

Published

3 days ago

December 11, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to figures released Tuesday by statistics agency CAPMAS, Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate fell more than anticipated to 25.5% in November, the lowest level since December 2022.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused international investors to pull billions of dollars out of Egyptian treasury markets, inflation started to rise sharply in early 2022.

In September 2023, headline inflation reached a record high of 38.0%. It dropped to 26.5% by October 2024.

In a Reuters survey last month, 15 economists’ consensus prediction was for annual inflation to gradually decline to 26.4%.

According to CAPMAS statistics, headline inflation decreased from 1.1% in October to 0.5% in November every month.

Compared to October, when they fell 1.1%, food costs fell 2.8% over the month, making them 23.3% more than they were a year ago.

An increase in the money supply has been a major contributor to inflation. According to central bank data, Egypt’s M2 money supply increased by 29.54% in October compared to the same month last year.