Blockchain has tons of market potential in development nations; look out for Cryptogene, which seeks to build a cryptocurrency economy in Nigeria and other African nations

This post was originally created by Wally Xie on r/ethtrader on reddit.

With all the talk of how much the development of blockchain technology can disrupt and boost functionality in the U.S./Europe/China/Japan, I think the transformative potential of blockchain tech (particularly in the form of mobile-based payment and utility applications) for rising countries like Nigeria, other nations in West Africa, nations in Southeast Asia are being overlooked. I read an article in the New Yorker recently about paying for solar power in West Africa, (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/26/the-race-to-solar-power-africa), and felt that blockchain payment applications that could function across borders could benefit some of these international solar panel utility companies.

Consequently, I really like what Cryptogene is doing and just wanted to give a heads up that they are a critical player to look out for with regards to the development of cryptocurrency on the African continent. The founder of Cryptogene, who goes by the handle @cryptobash on Telegram, is a really solid guy who is working really hard to educate citizens and entrepreneurs of Nigeria and other African nations about cryptocurrency, and he has a solid record in the crypto world. Cryptogene is launching their ICO soon; the funds will go towards expanding Cryptogene’s education, app development, training, and banking initiatives. You can see their white paper here: http://www.cryptogene.co/uploads/1/0/8/4/108490073/cryptogene_whitepaper.pdf

I look forward to their use cases and projects being fleshed out further. Cryptogene also benefits from having first mover advantage in Nigeria, and I think they could fill a valuable role in terms of being one of the premier VC/angel firms in the future in a country that is hungry for tech investment. Rather than this being an international project being distantly run from the West, I think it also helps that Cryptogene is an endeavor that has organically originated within Nigeria itself. Cryptogene has boots on the ground, and has a pulse on what is actually necessary and useful to Nigerians and West Africans. Anyway, just giving a heads up to keep an eye out for projects not happening in the usual tech hotbeds. There is a lot of innovative potential for blockchain tech in “developing nations” (apologies for using that phrase, since it sometimes seems condescending to me), and Cryptogene is an example of that.

Reddit link: https://www.reddit.com/r/ethtrader/comments/6s0vyx/blockchain_has_tons_of_market_potential_in/