Bitcoin beyond speculation: Mohammed Jega talks pushing BSV in Africa

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Africa’s appetite for digital assets and blockchain technology is unmatched. The region is seizing the opportunities that this emerging technology presents, and with a majority of its population below 25 years, the stage is set for an explosion in blockchain adoption.

Mohammed Ibrahim Jega is one of the people championing this adoption, and as he tells CoinGeek, enterprises and governments are increasingly warming up to Bitcoin SV.

Jega, the founder of blockchain-as-a-service firm Domineum Blockchain Solutions, recently hosted the inaugural Blockchain Developers Summit in Abuja, Nigeria. The event brought together over 1,000 attendees from the private and public sectors to discuss blockchain, with several BSV thought leaders taking the stage to talk about Satoshi’s vision.

Despite being the inaugural edition, the event set a new record, Jega tells CoinGeek.

“We had a record–breaking audience of over 1,500 participants, hosted over 15 sessions with industry experts to stimulate blockchain adoption in Africa–which has made it the largest blockchain gathering in Africa,” he revealed.

While it was a win for the entire blockchain industry, the event was especially significant for BSV. The audience, which included some high-ranking government officials, got to learn why BSV is the only blockchain network that can scale unbounded for enterprise use and how integrating the network into operations is a game-changer.

The buzz from the event was also a big win for Domineum, with Jega revealing that he has received plenty of calls from entities that want to partner with his company on BSV-related projects.

The success of this event has now made Domineum one of the most notable names in the Nigerian blockchain space–so much so that the country’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has tapped the company to anchor the blockchain day at the upcoming Digital Nigeria International Conference & Exhibition.

The event will run for three days, starting on October 24, with one day being set aside to focus on blockchain technology and its value to Nigeria’s digital agenda.

Championing BSV adoption in Nigeria

Jega has been championing BSV adoption in his homeland of Nigeria and beyond for some time now. One of the biggest factors behind his success is his company’s great relationship with several government agencies. These agencies have “been advocates of BSV’s continued adoption in the country,” with quite a few “willing to leverage BSV blockchain technology in the country.”

“The event was an eye opener to many, and the government officials present saw the unique value proposition of BSV through the speakers from the BSV world. They understood that BSV goes beyond price speculation,” Jega tells CoinGeek.

BSV adoption in Nigeria would be a big leap for the network. The country is Africa’s largest economy, and with over 200 million residents, the sixth-largest country in the world by population. Chainalysis’ recent global adoption index ranked Nigeria 11th for digital currency adoption.

Aside from government partnerships, Domineum is working with academia to take Bitcoin to the grassroots. The company has partnered with Baze University to educate young minds about Bitcoin, with plans to expand to 12 other institutions in different countries in the near future.

Jega is going beyond just educating the masses about Satoshi’s vision and is empowering the local developers to build on Bitcoin. At the Summit, developers got to pitch their ideas, and the winner–TechBros–was connected to Satoshi Block Dojo to help it scale its solutions to impact millions of lives.

This wasn’t a one-off, and Domineum will continue empowering local startups building on Bitcoin by connecting them to the Dojo and the many other opportunities in the Bitcoin world to help them scale.

As Nigeria’s uptake of Bitcoin and blockchain continues, Jega applauded the country’s regulators for being forward-thinking.

“Nigeria has taken the lead in regulating digital assets in Africa and is one of the countries looking keenly into governing the digital asset space,” he tells CoinGeek.

However, there’s room for improvement, and Jega believes that “constant engagement with government stakeholders, which we have started already, will have a huge impact in having a proper regulatory framework for blockchain in the country.”

Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention panel, Blockchain in Africa