Bitcoin In Kenya - Documentary [full-length]

[pollen_bit]

"Bitcoin In Kenya‘s style is framed by an investigative approach to expose Bitcoin as a global digital currency, as well as a ground-breaking technology. It is a journey between rural-unbanked Kenya to Nairobi’s technological start-up hub. This was a lived experience, an invaluable addition to my research about global finance on a specific, local level."

http://www.iamsatoshi.com/bitcoin-kenya-documentary/

[allgoodthings1]

This is a GREAT documentary!  Thanks so much for sharing!

[CliveK]

Appreciate the link, was interesting to watch. Only 11% of Africa has access to the internet. Kenya is trying to be the IT hub in Africa, competing against Nigeria and South Africa.

http://vc4africa.biz/blog/2014/07/09/nigeria-kenya-or-south-africa-which-is-africas-top-ict-hub/

"Nairobi, Kenya, has now matured into a globally-recognized hub for technology and innovation. Boosted by government support, interested investors,  and low barriers to entry, young tech-savvy Kenyans have led the way for this evolution; taking risks, launching new products for the local market [e.g. M-Farm and iCow],  while creating a pan-African presence with brands like Cellulant. This innovative energy that stemmed from “Silicon Savannah”, as Nairobi is known, captured the attention of governments, aid agencies, venture capitalists and Silicon Valley giants. Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt predicted that Nairobi could become the African tech leader. Google and other tech giants such as Cisco Systems, Intel, Nokia and Microsoft, have proven this faith by founding hubs and expanding their business operations in the city. The IBM lab, although Africa-focused, was built in Nairobi and its partnership with the Kenyan government is seen as a clear vote of confidence in the country’s ICT sector."

Seeing as I am from Africa, and lived in Africa until last year, I can honestly the North American woman is pretty much wrong in all she says or really dramatising for effect.

She said there are no banks (won't be replacing banking system, it will be the first banking system 11:29)....how odd that CitiBank is the 8th largest bank in Kenya, the largest being Kenya Commercial Bank (168 branches), Barclays and Standard and Charted.

Anyway, this lost all credibility there, which is really disappointing because I was hoping for a success story.

Take the "documentary" with a pinch of salt.

[caribbeanbitcoiner]

Appreciate the link, was interesting to watch. Only 11% of Africa has access to the internet. Kenya is trying to be the IT hub in Africa, competing against Nigeria and South Africa.

http://vc4africa.biz/blog/2014/07/09/nigeria-kenya-or-south-africa-which-is-africas-top-ict-hub/

"Nairobi, Kenya, has now matured into a globally-recognized hub for technology and innovation. Boosted by government support, interested investors,  and low barriers to entry, young tech-savvy Kenyans have led the way for this evolution; taking risks, launching new products for the local market [e.g. M-Farm and iCow],  while creating a pan-African presence with brands like Cellulant. This innovative energy that stemmed from “Silicon Savannah”, as Nairobi is known, captured the attention of governments, aid agencies, venture capitalists and Silicon Valley giants. Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt predicted that Nairobi could become the African tech leader. Google and other tech giants such as Cisco Systems, Intel, Nokia and Microsoft, have proven this faith by founding hubs and expanding their business operations in the city. The IBM lab, although Africa-focused, was built in Nairobi and its partnership with the Kenyan government is seen as a clear vote of confidence in the country’s ICT sector."

Seeing as I am from Africa, and lived in Africa until last year, I can honestly the North American woman is pretty much wrong in all she says or really dramatising for effect.

She said there are no banks (won't be replacing banking system, it will be the first banking system 11:29)....how odd that CitiBank is the 8th largest bank in Kenya, the largest being Kenya Commercial Bank (168 branches), Barclays and Standard and Charted.

Anyway, this lost all credibility there, which is really disappointing because I was hoping for a success story.

Take the "documentary" with a pinch of salt.

Most of these 'documentaries' just have one agenda

[LiteCoinGuy]

nice work, thx.

[manfred]

Good stuff

[trizma]

Great documentary.

I am actually from Kenya myself and I agree that mpesa is a big part of Kenya's financial services sector. I got to learn about bitcoin earlier this year... sometime in February and I've never looked back, I've been buying them consistently till now. I believe bitcoin has the potential to be a great competitor to mpesa as a peer to peer money transfer service but there are some obstacles that need to be overcome.

Many people around here have not even heard about bitcoin leave alone knowing what it is. I'm lucky i got to know about it because i work online.

I use mpesa and would like to outline some things about it that I think have made it a success here in Kenya

- low barrier of entry.. as long as you have a mobile number and identification card you can use it.
- there are many mpesa vendors(exchanges) all over the country even in remote areas of the country.
- it gives you the convenience for paying anything using your phone e.g. pay for fuel in a station, pay for your shopping in a supermarket, pay for your hotel bills, electricity bills etc.
- they have integrated it with banks ... such that you can deposit money to your bank from your phone  or withdraw money from your bank account to your phone.
- you can pay for insurance using mpesa

Disadvantages of mpesa

- in one transaction they charge the person sending the money and the person receiving it.
- it is reversible, you can send money to someone...then call the company, report that you sent the money by accident and they will reverse transaction if the person hasn't used the money. they just ask a few questions to confirm your identity to do this.
- when the network is down you can't do any transactions.

Overall, mpesa was quickly adopted by the masses in Kenya because it was a better system than anything that was around at the time.

That is why I see the potential of bitcoin, once the infrasturcture is up and running to make bitcoin available to the local people mass adoption will occur....this is not only for Kenya but the rest of the world.

[manfred]

There are a few more disadvantages for mpesa: its centralized, high fees, complete useless sending money anywhere in the world, dependable on fiat

[pollen_bit]

@caribbeanbitcoiner:
"Most of these 'documentaries' just have one agenda"
Please tell me more 

@CliveK:
CitiBank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Barclays and Standard and Charted (and the list goes on)..but how easy is it for someone from Kibera (Southern Nairobi), with a dense population of nearly 4 Million people, to open an account?
Let's say their last name starts with an Ou, how easy is it then?