- The Nigerian government and Binance discuss the possibility of creating a special economic zone.
- The initiative intends to widen job prospects for Nigerians and encourage further use of cryptocurrencies in West Africa.
- Nigeria has one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates globally, with over 22 million owners.
The Nigerian government and the crypto exchange Binance met to discuss the possibility of creating a special economic zone to help companies involved in the blockchain industry.
According to a post from the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Administration (NEPZA) on September 2, the authority has had early discussions about the planned digital city, known as a “Virtual Free Zone,” with Binance and technological infrastructure business Talent City.
NEPZA in discussions on partnership with Binance and Talent City for the first Virtual Free Zone in West Africa similar to the Dubai Virtual Free Zone. At Preliminary meetings in Dubai this week are Nadeem Ladki (Binance Executive Director-Regional Strategic Partnerships).
— NEPZA (@officialNEPZA) September 2, 2022
These early-stage plans took place last Friday in Dubai, UAE, between NEPZA managing director Adesoji Adesugba, Binance Executive Director Nadeem Ladki, Talent City CEO Luqman Edu, and Sikiru Lawal, NEPZA’s Director of Projects & Procurement.
The managing director Adesugba said the planned zone would be a first in West Africa and function similarly to Dubai’s virtual zones, providing crypto firms rules, regulations, and beneficial tax incentives to the industry.
The zone would “widen job prospects” for Nigerian residents, contribute to developing Nigeria’s digital economy, and encourage further use of cryptocurrencies in the West African area, according to Adesugba.
He added:
Our goal is to engender a flourishing virtual free zone to take advantage of a near trillion dollar virtual economy in blockchains and digital economy.
The popularity of cryptocurrencies has risen steadily over the past several years in Africa. According to reports, Nigeria has one of the highest cryptocurrency adoption rates globally, with over 22 million owners.
A CoinGecko study said Nigerians are the most fascinated with crypto, having searched for the phrases “cryptocurrency” and “purchase crypto” more frequently than the citizens of any of the other 14 nations examined.
Additionally, Nigeria introduced the eNaira in October 2021, the country’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC). In its second phase, eNaira aims to promote financial inclusion by enlisting Nigeria’s unbanked population.
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