Clinq.Gold: A Promise of Digital Transformation for African Financial Markets

The times of using only cash in transactions or spending hours in the queues in a bank’s office seem to have gone. Digital banking and contactless payments are integrated at a fast pace, reaching all corners of the world. A major drive for this digitalization wave was COVID-19, but even in its aftermath, nations continue pursuing financial inclusion and digital service expansion. 

Africa is not an exception, though this continent has largely been lagging behind other regions in digital banking adoption. There are still many barriers to overcome on the way, but innovative financial instruments are gaining more popularity across Africa, driving innovation forward. 

Digital Divide in African Countries 

As humanity heads to greater digital transformation in the third millennium, Africa has hardly scratched the surface of potential digital financial services offer. Digitalization in this continent faces a large number of bottlenecks, including: 

• A history of colonial rule and geopolitical conflicts. Though Africa is firmly heading to a democratic future, many countries are still under the strong control of former colonial rulers, like France, Belgium, and the UK. These countries have been restraining their African colonies’ development to a degree necessary for convenient resource mining. Yet, the advancement of African states is far from those in the Western world, and many (like Somalia) are still recovering from the recent wars and conflicts that severely undermined their basic infrastructure. 
• Population’s distrust of electronic money. Africans are also known for their distrust of electronic and online payments. People in this region have historically preferred cash transactions as the most reliable method of protecting one’s assets amid the absence of rigorous regulations and legal protection. Therefore, African users are reluctant and slow to adopt innovative digital payment systems, even though the level of smartphone and personal computer use is on par with many other, more developed regions.  
• Low level of financial inclusion. Reliance on cash payments and large distances that separate many African towns and villages from large cities have contributed to high percentages of underbanked and unbanked populations across Africa. These users are the hardest to reach out to, as they have no bank accounts and are literally non-existent in the financial system. 
• Absence of reliable, international-level payment providers. So far, the African digital payments market is immature, represented by several regional payment providers, like M-Pesa in Kenya or Fawry in Egypt. The African market isn’t included in the global payment leaders’ coverage, such as PayPal. 

With all these challenges in mind, modern FinTech businesses are eager to embrace the untapped potential of digital payment development in the African continent. However, the major point is to offer a secure, stable alternative with low volatility, such as tokenized gold.  

How Tokenized Gold Can Promote Financial Inclusion in Africa 

Tokenized gold, like the CGT token of the Clinq.Gold project, is a viable alternative for seamless and secure financial transactions for African users. Given the African users’ historical distrust of digital currencies and an absence of rigorous consumer protection through laws and anti-fraud measures, gold tokens can give the stability, transparency, and reliability Africans lack in most digital payment systems. The use of CGT is easy and doesn’t require advanced tech knowledge; it is doomed to become a popular currency as the tokenized gold use ecosystem grows, with more African and international projects joining in. 

Clinq.Gold at DGA23 

Clinq.Gold founders firmly believe that their project has direct relevance to the African market and can offer many possibilities for businesses and users. That’s why the project’s CEO and CTO are planning to attend the Digital Government Africa 2023 (DGA23) conference and present the Clinq.Gold project to financial and governmental entities there, offering assistance and support in the process of financial digitalization and inclusion in Africa. 

The Clinq.Gold integration proposal has many unique features and lucrative opportunities for businesses that can join the ecosystem as Service Providers (SPs) and Issuing Authorities (IAs). 

• SP model. Web3 businesses can join the ecosystem in which CGT will circulate. It’s possible to join as a CGT wallet provider, a service supporting CGT transactions as payment for goods and services, and a trading platform where CGT can be exchanged for fiat currencies and other crypto assets. 
• IA model. Those who have a gold reserve and want to join the Cryptocurrency-as-a-Service platform at Clinq.Gold can become an IA partner of the project. This means that an entity can mint CGT tokens for the amount of collateral they can provide and enjoy the revenue share from these tokens’ transactions. 

Therefore, there is a strong hope for new exciting partnerships Clinq.Gold will establish at DGA23, taking a deserved place in the African governments’ agenda for financial service innovation.