A global fintech platform operating in Kenya’s largest slum, Kibera, has made global headlines with its latest innovation—using Bitcoin to pay residents for participating in waste collection and management in the densely populated estate.
The platform, known as Afribit, was featured in Forbes over the weekend and has since gained traction for revolutionising money transactions in a place not typically associated with fintech innovation—Kibera, as opposed to areas like Kileleshwa, which is known for financial enterprises.
The platform provides coding classes and Bitcoin training to hundreds of residents while also engaging youth in waste management programs where they collect waste from households across the estate and receive payment in Bitcoin.
Additionally, the platform has established an online platform where residents of Kibera can sell their goods online in exchange for Bitcoin.
According to the Director of the Afribit project, Ronnie Mdawida, the decision to introduce Bitcoin as a payment method for slum dwellers was driven by existing challenges such as the lack of proper documentation required for obtaining identification needed to access banking and mobile financial services.
Mdawida explained that many of Kibera’s residents cannot utilise the traditional financial payment system in Kenya, thus motivating them to accept the mode.
''Some of the merchants in the community do not have any form of documentation and would not be able to participate in the traditional business ecosystem or build their lives without Bitcoin, which offers them an alternative,'' he told Forbes in an interview.
The project has now gone ahead to include even roadside fresh vegetable sellers, popularly known as Mama Mbogas who now accept Bitcoins for exchange of their products.
Mdawida, a Kenyan who runs the enterprise, has been doing community development in Kenya for the last 15 years and was first introduced to the Bitcoin trade in 2019 by a Canadian citizen.
That is where he developed an interest in introducing the concept to the slum community in Kibera.
Additionally, the project has helped the community find meaningful jobs to help them contribute to the circular economy of Kenya.
Meanwhile, some of the students who took the Bitcoin classes are now working as full-stack developers, website designers, and IT technicians.
