Paxful has disclosed plans to launch a blockchain incubator hub in Nigeria. Lagos is the choice location for the hub and it will be officially opened later this year.
The peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace also revealed that Lagos, the commercial nerve of Nigeria will provide a co-working space and some services including mentorship, corporate and individual blockchain training, and networking for ICO advisors.
The CEO of Paxful, Ray Youssef while speaking on the latest development said, “Paxful is committed to fostering economic growth in Africa and helping the unbanked and underbanked gain access to the opportunities they have been denied for so long.
“The incubator is simply a starting point to help driven entrepreneurs in an industry that has shattered boundaries all over the world,” he added.
In a related development, Paxful also appointed Chuta Chimezie as Regional Director of Africa, to be based out of Nigeria.
According to iAfrikan, Chimezie’s role will revolve around conducting business operations, facilitating local and international brand awareness, creating educational content on behalf of Paxful, recruiting and overseeing the incubator’s day-to-day operations.
Chimezie also while commenting said, “It is a privilege to work with an organization that believes in investing in countries with great potential such as Nigeria.
“Paxful’s initiatives have not only helped those in great need here, but are also helping African entrepreneurs achieve their full potential. Paxful is using Bitcoin to do good in the world, and I am proud to become an integral part of that.”
This is however not Paxful’s first engagement with Africa. It is worth noting that late last year, Paxful launched a charitable program called #BuiltwithBitcoin whose aim was to encourage those in the cryptocurrency industry to contribute funds for humanitarian projects with the first project being in Rwanda.
Paxful will sponsor several blockchain and crypto-focused events in Nigeria, and it also mentioned that it plans to sponsor and speak at others in Ghana, Cameroon and Kenya.
“We are where we are now because people gave back and it helped us tremendously. Nick Spanos funded the Bitcoin Center in New York right next to the NYSE, and it connected so many of us and gave us a home. We want to do the same for Africa and the emerging world. The real wave of bitcoin entrepreneurs and revolutionary blockchain projects has yet to emerge. Paxful will do everything we can to empower the Africa Cheetah generation,” concluded Artur Schaback, co-founder and CTO at Paxful.
