Forex liquidity and currency swaps are hard to access for many in Africa, which limits the use of United States dollar-based services in the continent’s import-dependent economies. This creates a vacuum that decentralized finance (DeFi) could solve, leveraging cryptocurrencies, blockchain networks and services, according to the CEO of Canza Finance, Pascal Ntsama IV.
Speaking with Cointelegraph, the CEO and co-founder of Canza Finance — a neobank enabling decentralized cross-border payments for Africans — said that Canza’s new DeFi technology, Baki, aims to address this challenge by providing decentralized foreign exchange (FX) for African currencies, enabling slippage-free swaps at central bank rates. It also seeks to create a hub for businesses to participate in intra-African and FX trades at a reduced cost.