More than 65% of Burundi's population is living in poverty, according to the World Food Programme, 2019. Photo Send A Cow

Image via Cointelegraph

Akoin, the cryptocurrency project developed by Senegalese-American singer Akon, has achieved success in its initial pilot testing at western Kenya’s Mwale Medical Technology City, or MMTC, preparing for a national rollout in the near future. 

The pilot, which began in November 2020, is expected to pave the way for $5 million worth of transactions per month at MMTC, according to a spokesperson for Mwale Medical Technology City. As Cointelegraph reported, the pilot stage allowed residents to pay and be paid using Akoin and have the transactions converted immediately into cell phone minutes or other forms of exchange.

Full implementation is expected to begin in September, and monthly transactions are projected to surge, possibly reaching $2 billion by 2022. By that time, Akoin will become the only platform for business transactions in the city.

Akoin is a cryptocurrency designed to help entrepreneurs, business owners and social activists transact locally without many of the impediments that inflict emerging markets in Africa. 

For full implementation to be successful, the Akoin project is targeting 5,000 workers within the first six months and 20,000 workers by the end of 2022. MMTC is scheduling a “major launch event for September” that will introduce Akoin for wider acceptance. The spokesperson explained: “A major launch event scheduled for September will include the launch of a new hospital wing in MMTC and the activation of Akoin across 5,000 beds at the Hamptons Hospital and 30,000 transactions per month, utilizing Akoin’s Atomic Swap technology, Merchant Services and Akoin Credit and Debit Cards.”

The spokesperson further explained that, by the end of 2022, Akoin is expected to become the “second most popular payment platform after M-Pesa,” a mobile-phone-based money transfer and micro-financing service popular in Africa and other parts of the developing world.

Mwale Medical Technology City is described as a newly built city encompassing a state-of-the-art medical and technology complex. The pilot testing of Akoin was seen as a stepping stone for the cryptocurrency being adopted by the highly ambitious Akon City project in Senegal. - SAM BOURGI, Cointelegraph

In Burundi, a rare type of business is emerging. To many Burundians, snakes symbolize demons. Its slightest presence in homes leaders to its quick death and only grown men, and only the bold ones, dare to attack snakes.

Nevertheless, this is a very important source of income to its breeders, a new profession in Burundian society.

In Bujumbura, one of the breeders has about thirty snakes and affirms that they are not naturally dangerous.

"A snake can only bite someone if it is provoked if it is stepped on. Here at home, people don't know its importance. They compare it to demons and kill them, Deo Nzigiyimama, a snake breeder told Africanews.

These snakes are usually kept in cages. They are then tamed to make them get used to human presence. Some say it's a job that is still ignored but profitable.

"We make bags and belts. When we collect the snakes from the forest, we put each one in its cage, we take care of their cleanliness. In Europe, a snake can cost 60 euros. If you have 100 heads, it's a business," Nzigiyimana revealed.

These breeders do also sell snake meat to maximize their incomes and they are now calling on youths to venture into this rare business in the country.

"I am testifying because I have already seen the fruits of this breeding. I am pleading with the youths to start this business," Nzigiyimana said.

Snake business has also attracted a number of tourists to Bujumbura in the national museums. Some tourists also visit private farms to see these snakes. - Africanews