After two years of waiting for approval from regulatory bodies, Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Roqqu was given a virtual currency licence for the European Economic Area. The company may now operate in 30 nations and expand its services in one of the biggest crypto markets in the world as a result of the move.
The business claimed that by providing competitive costs and a better user experience for newbies, it aims to draw early traders wanting to acquire an edge in the cryptocurrency industry.
With the expansion, Roqqu wants to increase its user base from the 1.4 million customers it had in Nigeria — the exchange’s only operating market — to over 5 million users by 2023. In the upcoming months, the exchange expects to offer services in a number of African nations, including South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
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According to Benjamin Onomor, CEO of Roqqu, African expats send their family members back home more than $5 billion annually. Remittances might occasionally take days to reach their destination. Onomor said:
“It makes a lot of sense to solve this problem by using crypto as the vehicle. Crypto is a faster and cheaper route that can bridge the gap and help reduce fees in moving money globally. This is the core of the problem we want to solve.”
Africa has adopted cryptocurrencies more frequently over time. The Middle East and North Africa region has the greatest growth rate in the world, according to statistics from Chainalysis, with users receiving $566 billion in cryptocurrencies between July 2021 and June 2022, a 48% increase over the previous year.
“It went from being perceived as a scam or another form of Ponzi scheme to one of the most sought-after asset classes in Africa,” Onomor commented about the industry evolution in Africa.
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“Lack of access to excellent internet or even any type of internet in general, low financial literacy, and a lack of technical know-how” are some of the difficulties the region’s crypto community is facing, according to Onomor. Lack of software management tools and hazy legal requirements are significant barriers for cryptocurrency firms. Onomor also noted:
“One of the most beautiful things about the crypto industry is that it’s a world of endless opportunities. With every challenge faced, crypto startups find a way to innovate around it.”
Roqqu license Roqqu license
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard