Blockchain and crypto enthusiasts have been preaching for years about the supposed mass adoption of this fintech and why this is an important goal that must be achieved ASAP. However, many factors, including ignorance, lack of information, and inadequate communications infrastructure, make it difficult to achieve this goal.
A book of “immeasurable” importance
In Africa, where proponents of cryptocurrencies believe the technology is likely to succeed, the task of convincing the continent’s citizens is made even more difficult by scammers. The number of people losing money to crypto scams remains very high, and this is working against adoption efforts.
To overcome this challenge, one Namibian educator and author, Gurvy Kavei, decided to publish a book to share what he has learned. Kavei, who is also a lecturer at the University of Namibia, told Bitcoin.com News that he hopes the book will help practitioners, policymakers, and educators like himself become familiar with the basics of the technology.
In addition to sharing his reasons for publishing the book, Kavei explained in writing to Bitcoin.com News why he believes education is key. Below are Kavei’s responses to questions sent to him via Whatsapp.
Bitcoin.com News (BCN). What inspired you to write this book?
Garvey Kavei (GK). I am an educator. With the low adoption of crypto and blockchain in Africa and Namibia in particular, it becomes a duty of care to create and share knowledge with the future generations of many digital economy hopefuls. In other words, this is to help those who want to help themselves in the crypto and blockchain field. Neoeconomics is no longer about monopolistic accumulation of wealth but about shared prosperity. So I decided to write this book on shared prosperity, both in terms of wealth and knowledge.
BCN: How important is this book, and any other book that seeks to raise awareness with the public about bitcoin and blockchain?
GK: The importance of this book is immeasurable. It covers almost 360 degrees of the entire ecology of crypto. It outlines the scope of the fourth industrial revolution and how it will lead to blockchain technology. In addition, it delves deeply into crypto mining and crypto trading. Third, the most important aspects addressed by the book are the geographic footprint, regulatory mix, and fintech enablers that will enable practitioners and entrepreneurs to establish a firm position in the new digital economy. Thus, this book is useful for practitioners, policy makers, as well as educators.
BCN: How would you rate the level of interest in cryptocurrencies in Namibia?
GK: The level of interest is gradually growing and is almost ubiquitous; five years ago the crypto space was only occasionally characterized by isolated pockets of multi-level marketing bitcoin mining networks; Bitclub Network, Mining City, Crowd1, and most of these had inherent structural failures, but crypto entrepreneurship remains booming with new entrants entering the crypto ecosystem in different ways and for different reasons.
Crypto trading is one particular niche where many young entrepreneurs are entering the field and where youth are finding answers to uncontrollable (30%) unemployment and solutions to improve their own livelihood. Some, like Namibia’s Digital Wealth Economy, operate Crypto Automated Machines (ATMs) that allow people to buy and sell crypto in Windhoek.
This trend is growing in scale and space over time: with increased training in the use of Web3, AI, and other coding, young people are now strongly incubating new solutions in the FinTech space. Other Blockchain derived solutions are also emerging. I and other Blockchain enthusiasts are designing Blockchain solutions for the public and private sector to solve many problems such as land and property registration and identity management. On the academic and research side, my new book and others planned for the future show how Namibia’s interest in crypto is changing.
Finally, the Bank of Namibia has expressed interest by publicly stating its intention to explore the possibility of launching a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) anytime soon. All of this tempts the University of Namibia as the first institution of higher education to consider implementing an academic program in blockchain technology.
BCN: Any preliminary results or feedback on your book since its launch?
GK: Since the launch, several new opportunities have begun to present themselves. First, we have begun to receive more orders from individuals. In addition, three institutions of higher learning have considered using the book in their training on blockchain. These include the University of Namibia and the Digital Wealth Academy, with other institutions on the horizon.
While more books are sold through international distributors such as Grin Verlag, Lehmanns Media, Barnes and Noble Store, and Amazon Books, the need for crypto/blockchain education is rapidly growing in Namibia and other Efforts are also underway to secure local distribution rights in several African countries. In Namibia, two projects on developing blockchain solutions in insurance and property registration have started in earnest since the book launch. We believe this is not the end. There will be more to come.
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