By Nana Appiah Acquaye, Accra, Ghana
Ghanaians can now transact with the rest of the world using bitcoin as the mode of payment for the first time, thanks to the introduction of bitcoin business investment by BitPesa, a premier digital payments platform for frontier markets.
Following a successful entry into the West African country last month and already connected to two mobile networks in Ghana, BitPesa has not only given Ghanaians the opportunity to buy and sell bitcoin on its platform with mobile money, but also provided both businesses and individuals the chance to send payments intra-Africa to Ghanaian mobile accounts.
Speaking exclusively to Biztechafrica during her visit to Ghana after the launch of BitPesa in Ghana, the Chief Executive Officer of BitPesa, Elizabeth Rossiello expressed her confidence in the Ghanaian economy and the company’s optimism about bitcoin operations in Ghana.
“We have high hopes for Ghana,” she said.
Ghana now becomes the second country within the West African sub region to transact business in bitcoin using BitPesa digital payment platform.
According to CEO Rossiello, as BitPesa constantly looks for creative ways to allow Ghanaians to make global payments using their own currency, it will continue to improve service offerings, compliance, and value for its new Ghanaian customers.
Founded in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013, BitPesa focuses on high-speed and low-cost FX and treasury transactions across and beyond Africa with operations in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal and DRC.
The company says it’s committed to facilitating intra-African business payments easier and faster and growing its coverage in West Africa.
“We are very active in Nigeria already, and this will help the Ghana-Nigeria trade corridor. With our best-in-class products and customer service, BitPesa can significantly lower the cost of payments from Ghana to other important trading partners such as Nigeria. Since Nigeria is a very important market for BitPesa already, Ghana was a natural choice for expansion, as these are the two largest economies in West Africa,” the company added.
