Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent World Bank report, is expected to experience a fall in economic growth by at least -3.3%.

No thanks to the economic fallout driven by the outbreak of the novel  Coronavirus  Coronavirus The outbreak of Covid-19 or Coronavirus in early 2020 has since redefined the financial services industry. Brokers have been forced to quickly adapt to several changes, both positive and negative.This includes the FX industry, which saw surges in volumes across the retail and institutional space in Q1 2020. This trend can be explained by an outflow of volatility, coupled with countries taking major moves to stabilize their respective economies.In conjunction with uncertainty caused by the virus, most countries also resorted to lockdowns in a bid to stifle the virus’ spread. At the time of writing, nobody knows whether this tactic will succeed in controlling Covid-19, though its early impact on financial markets is being felt already.Equity markets across most exchanges effectively crumbled by nearly a third in early 2020, with the worst being seen in March 2020. Stock markets have since rebounded, though only with the help of broad-based stimulus programs. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in the United States, with the Federal Reserve resorting to measures not used since the Great Financial Crisis. This included trillions in bond-buying purchases in a bid to stabilize the economy.The outbreak of Covid-19 also saw the collapse of the global oil market, which saw futures briefly enter into negative territory. Highly reduced demand out of China and most economies, as well as a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia have exacerbated this trend.Effects of Covid-19 on BrokersIn the retail space, forex brokers have experienced an early surge in trading volumes in 2020. This can be explained by a large uptick in potential clients, ironically due to stay at home orders and quarantining.It remains to be seen whether this trend will hold longer term as middle-aged potential investors return to work in 2020. In terms of other operations, brokers have had to rethink traditional call centers and other mechanisms for reaching clients due to the disruption of the virus.A push for online call centers and other such support is likely to overtake other methods of dealing with clients with a vaccine as of yet not available. Longer-term, a looming recession can also potentially impact brokers with the pool of investors once again possibly shrinking. As the situation of Covid-19 is unprecedented, brokers have joined other entities in a wait-and-see mode. The outbreak of Covid-19 or Coronavirus in early 2020 has since redefined the financial services industry. Brokers have been forced to quickly adapt to several changes, both positive and negative.This includes the FX industry, which saw surges in volumes across the retail and institutional space in Q1 2020. This trend can be explained by an outflow of volatility, coupled with countries taking major moves to stabilize their respective economies.In conjunction with uncertainty caused by the virus, most countries also resorted to lockdowns in a bid to stifle the virus’ spread. At the time of writing, nobody knows whether this tactic will succeed in controlling Covid-19, though its early impact on financial markets is being felt already.Equity markets across most exchanges effectively crumbled by nearly a third in early 2020, with the worst being seen in March 2020. Stock markets have since rebounded, though only with the help of broad-based stimulus programs. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in the United States, with the Federal Reserve resorting to measures not used since the Great Financial Crisis. This included trillions in bond-buying purchases in a bid to stabilize the economy.The outbreak of Covid-19 also saw the collapse of the global oil market, which saw futures briefly enter into negative territory. Highly reduced demand out of China and most economies, as well as a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia have exacerbated this trend.Effects of Covid-19 on BrokersIn the retail space, forex brokers have experienced an early surge in trading volumes in 2020. This can be explained by a large uptick in potential clients, ironically due to stay at home orders and quarantining.It remains to be seen whether this trend will hold longer term as middle-aged potential investors return to work in 2020. In terms of other operations, brokers have had to rethink traditional call centers and other mechanisms for reaching clients due to the disruption of the virus.A push for online call centers and other such support is likely to overtake other methods of dealing with clients with a vaccine as of yet not available. Longer-term, a looming recession can also potentially impact brokers with the pool of investors once again possibly shrinking. As the situation of Covid-19 is unprecedented, brokers have joined other entities in a wait-and-see mode. Read this Term pandemic, this region — home to over 1 billion Africans, will for the first time in 25 years slide into recession.

With some of the continent’s most populated Nations like West African country, Nigeria, already struggling to save her plummeting local currency, Naira, most analysts and experts have opined that the integration of  Blockchain  Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Read this Term technology — the transparent and permanent distributed ledger on which almost every crypto platform is built, could be a driving force for economic growth.

The introduction of blockchain-based solutions could catalyze the growth of the region’s dwindling economy.

While a ton of projects have been launched to seamlessly help governments, individuals, and organizations integrate blockchain, only a few have focused primarily on the African continent.

AFEN Blockchain Group, as stated on their website, is one of such.

What is AFEN Blockchain Group?

At a compound annual growth rate [CAGR] of 67.3%, the global blockchain market is expected to grow from $3 billion in 2020 to over $39.7 billion before the end of 2025.

Determined to be a key contributor to this expected figure, AFEN Blockchain Group, a pioneering company in the blockchain-related solutions industry has made it a point of concern to develop three key areas in the African continent — arts, real estate, and education.

Led by ex-banker, Deborah Ojengbede, who gained quite a bit of fame for raising $1 million through the AFEN private sale, this blockchain solutions platform is focusing primarily on Africa.

Through a series of partnerships, the nascent blockchain-based platform, as revealed via a press release, is strategically positioning itself as a force to be reckoned with in the budding African crypto market.

One of such consortiums is with the Nigerian Basketball Federation [NBBF].

As revealed further by the aforementioned source, this gives AFEN exclusive right to mint and sell digital collectibles from the Nigerian basketball team, D’tigers, who recently beat the invincible United States team and fourth-ranked basketball team, Argentina in a set of preliminary games.

With an emphasis on arts as earlier mentioned, AFEN Blockchain Group further reveals that it has secured strategic partnerships with African museums and in an unprecedented fashion, has announced government backing, making it the first government-backed NFT marketplace in the continent.

Like almost every other crypto-based project, AFEN has introduced a native token, $AFEN, which according to the executive team, will power the AFEN ecosystem. The token is currently available for purchase on PancakeSwap, Bitmart, and Julswap.

The AFEN Marketplace

Scheduled to be launched on Friday, August 20, 2021, this is the AFEN Blockchain Group’s digital collectibles and tokens marketplace.

As stated by an official press release announcing the launch, the AFEN Marketplace will feature a plethora of African legacy, artifacts, and digital collectibles from some of the most creative African digital content creators.

Designed to act as a springboard for African creators and artists, AFEN, according to the press release, will also launch an initiative called AFROXNFT.

This will lend impetus to creators from all over the continent to collaborate with AFEN to enable them to launch and auction non-fungible tokens [NFTS] on the AFEN Marketplace.

With an official launch slated for August 27, 2021, a week after the introduction of the AFEN Marketplace, AFROXNFT will feature, as part of its first collaboration, Jesse Tomi, a 3D Digital Artist who will release a set of digital collectibles christened “The Beginning”, as reported by the aforementioned press release.