New opportunities for economic growth can appear in many different forms, with a leading blockchain platform recently tipped to spark economic growth. The Solana network has been suggested as providing a way to promote the growing fintechs in Africa, but what is it and how could this work?
What Is Solana?
Solana is a high-performance network on the blockchain. It uses a proof-of-stake mechanism to allow users to create smart contracts, decentralized apps, or even their own cryptocurrency tokens such as memecoins. The network began life in 2020 and quickly established itself as one of the most important digital networks of the modern age.
The SOL token is the native cryptocurrency of Solana. At the time of writing, it’s listed as the fifth biggest cryptocurrency with a value of around $128 per token and an overall market capitalization of $65.7 billion. Its value has fluctuated greatly since launch, reaching an all-time high of $216 in 2021.
How Could It Help African Fintechs?
The suggestion that Solana could be useful in helping African fintechs to grow was raised by Ghana President John Dramani Mahama, who mentioned in a social media post on the essential nature of financial inclusion in his country and the rest of the continent. He followed that up with the idea that the low transaction costs when using Solana could drive fintech growth as well as enabling crypto payments and greater adoption rates.
His post included a clip of a speech that the President made at the recent Africa Prosperity Dialogue meeting in Accra, where he spoke about using new technology to help develop African economies. However, it’s not clear how exactly Mahama believes that the Solana network could be used in this respect.
Social Media Also Creates Growth Opportunities Using the Same Principles
While there are clearly some opportunities for fintech growth in the cryptocurrency industry, we shouldn’t overlook the other existing areas that can help. Social media has been highlighted as an important tool in reaching new audiences with fresh ideas. The latest figures from Statista reveal that there were more than 384 million African social media users in 2022, giving startups the chance to speak to a wide audience.
Social media can also work as a way for growing companies to get in touch to discover how they can help each other. This LinkedIn profile for an international gambling software provider shows how these social platforms can be used to reach companies across the world. While they’re based in the UK, they use LinkedIn to offer their services to startups that want to open their own gambling sites with the help of a turnkey solution.
Social media works well with fintech companies because they both work similarly to the blockchain, getting directly to the end users through a decentralised approach without any clutter or intermediaries. Emerging financial companies can reach out to their target audience with tips and suggestions designed to make an immediate impact in their lives.
It remains to be seen if Solana can indeed provide a veritable way to boost the fintech scene in Africa, as suggested. However, the principles of decentralisation and the modern approach seen in the blockchain have already had a positive effect elsewhere with the introduction of social media to this area, which may be a good sign of things yet to come.
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