Despite our backgrounds, race, qualifications and nationalities, we all face different kinds of problems that may weaken our resolve, drain our energy and threaten the accomplishment of our goals.

However, regardless of the kind and magnitude of the problems that you may face from time to time, it is important to understand that where there is a problem, there is always a solution.

Right now, as you read this, you may be going through an overwhelming situation but I must tell you that you are in that situation because you are part of the chosen few who are designed to come up with a proven solution to your problem.

Based on my own experiences, observation, research and interaction with other people, I have come to understand that for every problem there is always a solution even in those situations that we may think we are doomed or have hit the end.

As such, it’s important to understand that whatever you may have considered to be the end of the road because of pain and desperation may quite often be a sign of new beginnings and thus you must not be easily shaken by tough situations which will never last forever.

All what is needed is for you to remain resilient, stay focused, strategize and then take informed action, with hope and faith being your cheerleaders even in the worst of circumstances.

I am going to share with you some pointers or guidelines that can help you to navigate through difficult circumstances without losing your sense of worthy and then later on, I will explain these steps in detail using examples.

Step 1: Recognize, realize or accept that there is a problem.

Step 2: Identify the problem or critically analyze its nature.

Step 3: Come up with possible solutions and evaluate them.

Step 4: Take action, take a leap of faith, and take a risk.

In order you to clearly understand these steps and guidelines, I will use the story of lepers in the Bible as our case study.

2 Kings 7vs.3-4 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, why sit we here until we die? 4 If we say, we will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

From the scripture above, we see four men who are engulfed in a do or die situation.

If we break down the above scripture, we can see the following critical points: a) they had leprosy, b) they were the outcasts, meaning they lived outside the city, c) there was famine in the city and d) the enemy had surrounded the city.

Now, let us use the four steps of problem solving mentioned earlier on to see how the leprous men faced their problems head-on so that we can also apply the same principle where necessary towards our own victory and success stories.

Step 1: Recognize, realize or accept that there is a problem. We see the four lepers recognizing and accepting that there was a problem. One of the most effective ways to recognize a problem is to introspect, that is to dig deep within yourself. You must never be in self-denial in life but you must learn to have tough conversations with yourself regarding what is going on in your life just like what the leprous men did. It is in these deep conversations with ourselves where we find real life and long lasting solutions.

Step 2: Identify the problem or critically analyze its nature. The lepers realized they had leprosy. They knew they were the outcasts and that there was famine in the city plus the enemy was surrounding the same city. Identifying a problem will help you come up with possible solutions.

Step 3: Come up with possible solutions and evaluate them. The four lepers had possible solutions to their situation. Most of the time the solutions we may come up with requires taking risks. In the case of these four lepers, their solutions were; a) to sit in their condition and die, b) to go back to the city where there was famine and die or c) to go to the camp of the enemy and possibly die. A solution with two possible outcomes is always worth considering.

Step 4: Take action, take a leap of faith, and take a risk. The biggest risk in life is the unwillingness to take any risk. Having a list of solutions, the four lepers made a decision and begun to take action as they walked towards the camp of the enemy even though there were some risks associated with their chosen option.

Remember they took a solution with two possible outcomes, a positive and a negative one, but they were always focusing on the positive outcome. As they begin to take a step of faith, God came through and saved them. What they did also brought great deliverance to the whole city.

Shelton Vengesai is a Motivational speaker, Personal Development Coach, Aviator and Entrepreneur based in Frisco, Texas, United States of America.

Follow him on Instagram: @captain_eagle_shelton

Bitcoin based Remittances and Their Benefits to African Customers

Today I want to talk with you about bitcoin remittance providers. Why?

Although the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin could be facing crackdowns in various regions in the world, it is experiencing a surge in the African remittance market. It isn’t affected by geographical variations since its transactions are stored in a blockchain database.

The main difference between cryptocurrencies and MasterCard or visa is that it isn’t regulated by the government and doesn’t require intermediaries, and the transactions rely on the internet; thus can take place at any part of the world.

Remittances have become a common way of life in most African countries since there is an increased number of immigrants in search of better wages. These workers will, at one point in their lives, want to transfer money to their families and friends back in their home countries. The situation leaves most people at the mercy of various financial institutions like banks and money transfer operators who charge a very high fee.

However, the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology offers high hopes in an attempt to transform the African remittance industry in favor of migrant workers and their families.

Today, Bitcoin operates as a medium of money transfer allowing users to evade the high charges by traditional money transfer services.

See also my article “The Ultimate Guide About Bitcoin Based Remittances for Africans“.Table of Contents1Bitcoin based Remittances and Their Benefits to African Customers2Comparison Between the Traditional and Bitcoin-based Remittances3Cryptocurrency’s Popularity in Africa4Reasons Behind Crypto Popularity in most African Countries5Bitcoin Remittance Providers for African Countries6Bitcoin remittance provider Paxful7Bitcoin remittance provider LocalBitcoins8Bitcoin remittance provider Coinmama9Bitcoin remittance provider BitPesa10Bitcoin remittance provider NairaEx11Sign up for my updates and latest insights:

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12Bitcoin remittance provider Hellobit13Bitcoin remittance provider Remitano14Bitcoin remittance provider Geopay15Bitcoin remittance provider BTCGhana16Bitcoin remittance provider SureRemit17Bitcoin remittance provider Circle18Bitcoin remittance provider Crowdz19Bitcoin remittance provider Everex20Bitcoin remittance provider Metalpay21Bitcoin remittance provider Eversend22Conclusion about Bitcoin remittance providers

Comparison Between the Traditional and Bitcoin-based Remittances

In the ancient model, for example, when a USA based migrant worker needs to send money to his family in Africa, he visits a money transfer operator and hands over the cash. The transfer agent then starts to process the transaction at the current exchange rate and must charge for the services. Generally, the agent works as a third party conversant with the transfer software and services from a remittance software provider like a Western union.

Since he lacks the financial capabilities and relevant software system, he only gets a fraction of what the customer pays, and a considerable amount goes to the remittance provider company. Additionally, the agent needs to settle some subscription fees for system installation and maintenance. Thus, he must increase the overall cost to the end-user to meet his financial obligations. Besides, inexactness in the exchange rates also affects the client in the form of unfavorable rates.

On the other hand, the crypto remittance companies facilitate better cross border payments through a great internet connection and a simple software system compatible with various devices. Therefore, the money transfer agents can perform the transactions without additional installation, maintenance, or subscription costs. The blockchain technology then records the transaction details and anti-money laundering necessities in a database for security purposes.

The business operations in these companies involve estimating the amount of money required for particular remittances in a day. They then purchase an equivalent bitcoin and later sell the crypto in the fiat currency in the recipient nation.

Cryptocurrency’s Popularity in Africa

The soaring rise in mobile phone use in most African countries is helping entrepreneurs compete with other money transfer services with high remittance rates and fees. The crypto use has increased in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, cryptocurrency is gradually gaining ground in Uganda.

According to Google trend data, Lagos in Nigeria has the highest volume of online search for Bitcoin. It results from the frustrations of existing money transfer services, which bars the citizens from receiving money from their families overseas due to the countries fraud reputation. As a result, numerous innocent people are suffering and have to use alternative services with a high fee to receive financial help.

Recently, most of them have embraced cryptocurrencies as a perfect solution. Citizens of countries battling with high inflation rates are likely to opt for crypto as a substitute for their disastrous banking policies. Some of the countries with high inflation rates include Egypt, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi and are among the leading bitcoin economies in Africa.

Another significant factor spurring crypto growth in the continent is the inability and powerlessness of the governments to regulate Bitcoin. Fearing the collapse of the banking sector and misappropriation of funds by the African governments, most citizens seek crypto transactions. The South African Luno exchange was developed in 2013 and has attracted more than 1.5 million users worldwide.

Additionally, the Kenyan Bitcoin Remittance Provider Bitpesa facilitates transactions in African and international locations with high trading volumes contributed by the lucrativeness of the business.

Other Bitcoin Remittance Providers include Abra, operating in Morocco and Malawi, BitMari in Zimbabwe, and Geopay in South Africa.

Surprisingly, some governments have shifted into the virtual currency terrains with Tunisia’s government issuing the eDinnar digital currency.

As stated by the Hootsuite’s 2019 global digital yearbook, 10.7% of South Africans own crypto, with Nigeria at 7.78% and 7.3% for Ghana.

Reasons Behind Crypto Popularity in most African Countries

Most African citizens have started shifting their hopes to the use of crypto to escape numerous constraints faced with the traditional money transfer services, including cost, speed, and inconveniences.

The main benefit is the overall lower cost to the end customer, which allows migrant workers to send substantial amounts of money to their loved ones in their home countries at fairer prices. Also, there is a high unpredictability in the local currencies in most African countries; for instance, when South African rand became a volatile currency, most people switched to crypto to seek security.

The transaction is safe, and the companies don’t hold the virtual currency for more extended periods; thus, the operation takes a short time.

Some Africans have also lost trust in their local banking systems, for example, in Zimbabwe where they have experienced hyperinflation, Bitcoin is very popular, and at times demand surpasses supply. Due to the instability and shortages, most Zimbabwean citizens are flooding the crypto markets as they believe Bitcoin is more trustworthy.

Besides the financial inclusions and local currency volatility, there is a vast unbanked population in the continent since others in remote regions lack access to bank accounts.

Mobile money is a critical driver in reducing the number of unbanked individuals; thus, Africa is better prepared to shift into the crypto world than any other continent. Most citizens are already open to adopting crypto technology, and crypto exchanges that offer mobile functional apps will highly benefit.

Bitcoin Remittance Providers for African Countries

As crypto awareness is on a rapid rise in Africa, more cross border payments are likely to take place with the digital currencies. Most African migrant workers now put their hopes on bitcoin based remittances to send money to their families at home due to the lower fee, improved efficiency, and speed of the transaction.

A considerable number of crypto-fiat platforms have thus emerged to meet the high demand, and you need to choose the right one depending on location and preferences.

As Bitcoin Guide Africa we present you here the leading Bitcoin remittance providers in operation.

Bitcoin remittance provider Paxful

Paxful, a crypto remittance platform founded in 2015, with its headquarters in New York, has since recorded a consistent uptrend in its existence. It avails most African nationals a chance to send funds to their families back at home since it’s less volatile than most fiat currencies in some countries experiencing higher inflation. To start transactions, create an account and click “buy bitcoin,” then input preferred currency and method of payment, state, city, and the bank of your choice.

Search for offers, pick one, and then enter the amount of money you want to trade, you can now converse with your vender through live chat. Buyers will need to get the name, and the account number of a vendor, then go to the bank, deposit the money, and take a picture of the slip then send it back. Once the verification process is complete, escrow releases a bitcoin to complete the transaction.

Numerous people from all over the world can now transfer funds and trade bitcoins through the site daily. It provides several payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, MoneyGram, bank transfer, among many others.

It operates in various African countries including:

• Mauritius

• Algeria

• Egypt

• Rwanda

• Kenya

• Mozambique

• South Africa

• Nigeria

Read more about Paxful: A Comprehensive Guide to Paxful’s Role in Africa or click here to visit the website of Paxful directly!

Bitcoin remittance provider LocalBitcoins

Jeremias Kangas and his brother Nikolaus formed the Helsinki-based platform in 2012, which allows direct trade between persons. It doesn’t provide for an overhead corporate; thus, the transaction process is swift and lean. LocalBitcoin has recorded an increase in the transaction volumes in the African countries for peer to peer transactions.

It provides a safe platform where its users can convert bitcoins into fiat and vice versa and also facilitates funds transfer between African countries. The platform connects buyers and sellers within a particular geographical area hence the name. It supports a wide range of money transfer options, including the Mpesa, which makes it popular among most African crypto investors.

It’s the most straightforward platform for beginners who wish to send money to overseas in the operating African country. You simply need to open a LocalBitcoins account and search for people selling bitcoin-core in your country, then make a bank transfer to the seller, and you will receive fiat cash into your desired local account. The system offers heightened security by using escrow mechanism to hold funds and only releases it when both parties come into an agreement. The platform is available in every African country where buyers and sellers are ready and willing to transact using digital currencies.

Read more about LocalBitcoins: LocalBitcoins in Africa Extensive Guide

Bitcoin remittance provider Coinmama

Founded in 2013, Coinmama is operated by New Bit Ventures Limited with its headquarters based in Israel. The platform provides brokering services for crypto, meaning that they sell you bitcoins directly as opposed to other platforms where you buy from other traders. It offers multiple options to purchase cryptocurrencies off the platform using credit cards, debit cards, Western Union money transfer, MasterCard, Visa, and cash payments.

For bitcoins transfer using Coinmama, create an account, and submit your documents for verifications to get approved for purchase. Once verified, you can assess various choices to purchase a certain amount or enter a custom amount. When you submit your wallet address for order processing, Coinmama’s wallet expedites payment to the required address.

For the credit card orders, it takes a few minutes to process, but SEPA bank transfers will take up to two days. Their website comes with a step by step guide on how to use their services and offers industry-leading purchase limits convenient for any beginner. It operates in most African countries, providing simple, fast, usually slightly expensive transfer services.

However, it isn’t available in the following countries:

• Somalia

• South Sudan

• Sudan

• Zimbabwe

• Nigeria

Click here to visit the website of Coinmama!

Bitcoin remittance provider BitPesa

Elizabeth Rossiello founded the company in 2013, based in Nairobi, whose initial focus was to facilitate crypto-cash transfer between the U.K and Kenyan citizens but has extended to several African countries. Today, the platform has gained popularity among importers and exporters across Africa, and it facilitates a smooth trading and remittance services. Users can send and receive cash in multiple African currencies to pay bills at home and other international currencies to pay overseas suppliers.

It operates by deploying APIs that work with various mobile payment platforms and a chain of bank networks. Organizations can send payment to their employees’ suppliers or distributors and also collect fees from African customers in local currencies. To transact, you need to establish a BitPesa account where you can sell or buy virtual currencies such as Bitcoins in the supported national currencies.

If you need to initiate a transaction, then you must deposit Bitcoins into your BitPesa account. Then, designate a Payee account where the money gets delivered at the current exchange rate. You then confirm your exchange transaction where the indicated amount of cryptocurrency is transferred from your account and deposited into a designated payee account. Most people use the platform to enjoy fast, straightforward, and more effortless remittances between international and Africa fiat currencies.

BitPesa operates in the following African countries:

• Kenya

• Uganda

• Tanzania

• Nigeria

• Democratic Republic of Congo

• Senegal

• Morocco

• Ghana

Click here to visit the website of BitPesa!

Bitcoin remittance provider NairaEx

It is a Nigerian based e-currency exchange platform founded in 2015, which allows users to sell and buy Bitcoin with Nigerian Naira at fairer rates. Today, it’s a central exchange service platform in the country which operates independently from a mobile payment processing solution. It facilitates cash payments while cutting a considerable amount of the deposit and withdrawal fee and thus allows users to convert crypto into cash via bank accounts freely.

The transactions with NairaEX are quite straightforward where the sender deposits local currency into the account, then provides a recipient bank detail, and the platform pays it into the beneficiary’s local bank account. Additionally, users can use bank transfers or deposits to buy bitcoin in Naira through the platform and then use the exchange wallets for payments and can quickly cash out their bitcoins into local currency.

It helps the clients pay school fees, living expenses, and salary or make remittances to suppliers. The platform aims at providing Bitcoin exchange services exclusively for Nigeria citizens, and that’s why the country’s currency terminology is part of the domain name. It aims at supporting the country’s numerous unbanked individuals by developing a payment request tool that allows users to accept virtual currency directly from a NairaEX account.

Click here to visit the website of NairaEx!

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Bitcoin remittance provider Hellobit

The San Francisco based company, founded in 2014, utilizes new digital currencies technology to send money home to families in emerging markets. It uses bitcoin as the primary medium for cross-border payments and cuts the service remittance fee up to 12 percent. Through the company’s app, users connect with other currency exchangers, be it individuals, businesses, or large organizations, and one can receive payments in their local currency.

Hellobits integrates the power of cellphone services into the remittance market to improve efficiency in the cross-border payments. It’s a three-party remittance service where the sender and exchanger need a smartphone while the recipient only needs a feature phone. The senders logs into the Hellobit account and transmits a bitcoin to the local exchanger. The platform then notifies the beneficiary via SMS code to confirm if they are the right recipient.

The recipient then receives a location of a place or a person nearby who will exchange the cryptocurrencies for local currency. It allows people to send money to their friends and relatives anywhere in the world, provided that the recipient can pick up cash from the trusted network of collaborative economy-based exchangers.

Click here to visit the website of Hellobit!

Bitcoin remittance provider Remitano

Remitano is a peer-to-peer platform that facilitates cryptocurrencies trading in a secure environment. On the platform, users can purchase Bitcoin in exchange for Fiat currencies at a small fee between themselves. A Seychelles based company, Babylon Solutions Limited owns it and has been in existence since 2015.

For any transaction, you need to create a Remitano account and then scroll down to find a buyer. Depending on the selected country, cryptocurrencies exchange rates, all buyers and sellers from the specific locations, are displayed. Enter the amount of crypto you want to sell, your payment account details, then click “Continue”, and the transaction will switch automatically waiting for the buyer to pay. The buyer will then deposit money in the required account and close the deal.

It has encrypted data storage, two-factor verification, and escrow trading to ensure that transactions and personal data are secure. Remitano mostly works with cash deposits and bank transfers but avails other options in different countries like Wechat and Alipay. Apart from the web platform, users also access it via mobile applications in Android and iOS powered devices, which facilitate push notifications.

Remitano Services are accessible in the following African countries:

• Nigeria

• South Africa

• Uganda

• Kenya

• Zimbabwe

• Tanzania

Click here to visit the website of Remitano!

Bitcoin remittance provider Geopay

GeoPay is a blockchain remittance digital platform that facilitates the flow of remittances from different parts of the world into Africa. It is a South African based startup, founded in 2014. Users can easily send or receive money via Geopay tellers who are available in and out of South Africa. The platform has a great user experience that integrates local currency in the emerging markets; thus, making cross-border payments easy and fast.

One is required to download the application on iOS or Android enabled devices and has an option to add a debit card to send money via Geopay. Transactions go through a network of agents in the informal settings who facilitates settlements for the financially excluded individuals between countries. It enables people in the diaspora to seamlessly send money to their homeland and saves them on conversions and transfer fees. Additionally, users can use GeoPay to make merchants payments.

Click here to visit the website of Geopay!

Bitcoin remittance provider BTCGhana

BTC Ghana is a bitcoin remittance platform that facilitates the transfer of funds in a secure, fast, and affordable way for Ghanaians and Africans in the diaspora. It was founded in 2015 with its headquarters in Kumasi, Ghana. BTC Ghana incorporates the blockchain technology into the current mobile money service providers in Africa, to facilitate mobile settlements using bitcoins from developed countries to Ghana.

Users in Europe and the United States can make cryptocurrency purchases via established exchange platforms and send the payment to local remittance platforms such as MTN Mobile Money, AirtelMoney, and TigoCash. The money then gets transferred to recipients’ mobile money account, and users can pick their funds at local remittance outlets in Cedi without dealing with the complex Deposit and withdrawal methods.

Click here to visit the website of BTCGhana!

Bitcoin remittance provider SureRemit

SureRemit is a non-cash remittance platform that uses blockchain technology to assist immigrants to send money back home. It was founded in 2017 with its headquarters based in Lagos, Nigeria. It doesn’t charge transaction fees when paying for utility bills, groceries, or medical treatment. Users are at liberty to choose a specific local merchant from whom they can purchase digital vouchers and settle it instantly on the SureRemit platform.

By the use of blockchain, the platform can bypass the usual banking system and connect a consumer to a local merchant at a small transaction fee. To transact on SureRemit, download the app on either android or iOS powered gadget and present tokens to start making payments. It’s tied to a specific merchant and is irredeemable for cash; thus cannot be used for money laundering, fraud, or terrorist funding.

SureRemit is looking forward to growing its presence in Africa through its predecessors’ network, SureGift. It provides Remit tokens and has a vast network in various African countries like:

• Rwanda

• Nigeria

• Egypt

• Kenya

• Mauritius

Click here to visit the website of SureRemit!

Bitcoin remittance provider Circle

The Circle is a global internet finance company that is built on blockchain technology and powered by Crypto assets. It was founded in 2013 by internet entrepreneurs Sean Neville, and Jeremy Allaire, and the headquarters are in Boston, Massachusetts. It has a mobile payment platform, the Circle Pay’s, that enables users to send, receive, or hold traditional currencies.

To send money using Circle pay, sign in to your account and navigate to the “send tab” then enter the amount you wish to transfer. Enter a Bitcoin address to choose where you want to send your funds and complete the payment. There are no deposit or withdrawal charges from bank accounts, insurance, storage, or cryptocurrencies transactions. Users can register for one account, denominated in their local currency or Bitcoin, for a maximum of two reports.

Click here to visit the website of Circle Pay!

Bitcoin remittance provider Crowdz

Crowdz is a blockchain platform that permits businesses to manage, digitalize, and optimize invoices. It was founded in 2014 by Payson, Severo, Steven Lee, and Hopkins, and the headquarters are in Sunnyvale, California. Crowdz uses a blockchain-based B2B money transfer service. It uses blockchain as its foundation to automate and speed up transactions, thereby eliminating the process of having to download and key in information into an accounting system.

After transmitting an invoice over the Crowdz invoice exchanges, the digitized data securely and instantly passes to the relevant parties such as employees and clients. Not only does it make work easier on invoicing, but it also facilitates faster payments, orders, and documents. All these related transactions instantly become interconnected; thus, making it less stressful.

The company focuses on small and medium-sized firms to boost their growth in the economy and has fully customized solutions for global ventures. It accelerates the cash conversion cycle by allowing digital payments to overseas suppliers with no international transfer fee. Crowdz support 24/7 invoice exchange in most countries with Barclay’s bank access.

Click here to visit the website of Crowdz!

Bitcoin remittance provider Everex

Everex is a blockchain financial technology firm that enables the application of virtual currency on a peer to peer payment platform to facilitate cross border transactions. It was founded in 2016, by Alexi Lane with the main office in Bangkok, Thailand. Everex acts as a link between cryptos and fiat currency by digitizing local currencies into fiat to come up with a costless, transparent, secure, and fast payments system.

Users can convert their money into digital crypto-cash via their local banks and use them on desktop wallets and mobile devices. The cryptocurrency, therefore, paves the way for Everex to provide micro-lending services without the volatility of traditional cryptos. Concerns between the capital transfer system and external blockchains are addressed by the Service-Oriented Architecture, which comprises of Blockchain package and Everex –System package.

Everex enables you to make a transfer, pay other people, and trade with any fiat currency anywhere in the world. The company has developed a global partnership with vendors that accept Everex transactions as payment methods, and users can also withdraw cash through ATMs, retailers, and local currencies exchanges globally. It has a short settling time with a lower transaction fee and global support in the world’s remittance markets. The platform accelerates access to financial services in underserved financial markets.

Click here to visit the website of Everex!

Bitcoin remittance provider Metalpay

Metalpay is a mobile blockchain-based remittance solution that allows clients to send money at better rates with a native reward currency. It was founded in 2016 in the United States in San Francisco by Marshall Hayner. Consumers can send USD, which is converted to bitcoins, to get a ‘METAL’ reward for every dollar they send or purchase. The awards can be held as an investment or converted to dollars and sent to another Metal Pay user.

A unique feature with Metalpay is that it has a combined cryptocurrency wallet with traditional financial accounts. To sign up, you need to link your bank account to the app and ensure you verify your identity and phone number. The settling takes a short period after verification. For every dollar you receive or sell, you earn MTL that is up to 5% the transaction value. The rewards are not restricted to sending money but also paying bills like rent or shopping.

Click here to visit the website of Metalpay!

Bitcoin remittance provider Eversend

It is a free banking alternative that avails money transfer services while capitalizing on the blockchain technology. It was founded in 2017 in the France capital, Paris, by Fast Track Malmo and Techstars investors. Their primary focus is on the African customers and those in diaspora all over the world. When using Eversend, you can transfer money to bank accounts and mobile devices.

It enables money transfer from Africa to the rest of the world, in-country money transfer, and intra-Africa crossborder areas. Through their e-wallet, they provide other financial services such as travel insurance, access to cryptocurrency, wealth management, and personal loans. Eversend delivers a complete digital remittance experience by facilitating international transactions without internet connectivity.

Users only need to link their debit card to Eversend accounts, loaded with different currencies to execute e-commerce settlements. It supports various currencies such as KES, RWF, UGX, GBP, USD, NGN, and EUR.

In Africa, it’s available in:

• Uganda

• Rwanda

• Kenya

• Ghana

• Cameroon

• Tanzania

• Nigeria.

• South Africa

• Swaziland

Click here to visit the website of Eversend!

Conclusion about Bitcoin remittance providers

Africans working abroad often send money to their families and friends in their home countries to pay for school fees, buy food, clothes, and meet daily expenses or to start a business.

The money is essential for many families in recipients’ countries to help cope with the continent’s unstable economies.

However, a large amount of this money is taken in transfer fees by expensive agents and financial institutions.

While the financial organizations have been charging Africans high fees for these services, bitcoin-backed fiat remittances have become a solace for most overseas citizens due to its speed, efficiency, and low price. 

As more nations adopt virtual currency payment services, Bitcoin may eventually dominate the African remittance market.

The future of crypto-currency based remittances in Africa will depend on the growing rate of mobile phone use and the currency’s freedom from state regulations and banking controls.

Brian and Mutumwa`s Chat Room is a zwnews24 column on an interview series between businessman Mutumwa Mawere and 1873 Radio`s Brian Tawanda Manyati (BTM) under the Connections2Communities (C2C) Conversations. 

In these interviews, Brian and Mutumwa talk about various issues that happen across the spectrum of human life in order to raise community awareness and participation towards societal development. 

This third episode touches on Presidential Powers as well as Specification and Reconstruction Orders with intention to analyze and assess the impact thereof on the socio-economic environment, with the ZIMRE judgment still being our case study.

BTM: Mr Mawere, welcome to today’s episode of the Brian and Mutumwa’s Chatroom. Would you please shed more light on the constitutional rights of THZ in relation to its property being the shares held in UKI and ENDURITE and the rights of ZIMRE in relation to SMM? 

Mutumwa Mawere: “It was SMM that was placed under extrajudicial reconstruction and not ZIMRE since ZIMRE was a separate legal persona with its own creditors and shareholders. Zimre was commanded into reconstruction without its knowledge and consent.”

The role of the Investigator was to protect the property of the specified and yet the intent was to use the rights issue to dilute and compromise the control of ZIMRE by THZ’s 2 subsidiaries. 

The question is on whether a specification order can be used to enable the divestment of assets and deprivation of property rights. If one follows the facts of this case, is it easy to arrive at a conclusion that the Court was used to undermine the rule of law?

BTM: Section No. 3 of the old Constitution had the following areas for consideration:

# Protection from deprivation of property – No property of any kind can be compulsorily acquired or taken away except under the authority of the law.

# Protection of the law – every person is entitled of the law, e.g. if charged with a criminal offense; he or she should be given fair trial within a reasonable time by an independent and unbiased court, open to the public.

From your understanding, which section was used in the ZIMRE case?

Mutumwa Mawere: As regards the ZIMRE judgment, we should be asking what the role of Mawere was in the court proceedings before Judge Makarau. How can a judge dismiss an application that is before the Court simply on account of the status of a witness? 

BTM: What the judge did was tantamount to lifting the corporate veil and there was no corporate fraud against anyone under the circumstances of the ZIMRE case to have warranted lifting of a veil of THZ to the extent of attaching a witness to its matters.

Mutumwa Mawere: Did the judge make any observation on corporate veil or she erroneously believed that a deponent can create and disqualify authority? Was there a dispute before requiring an inquiry into the corporate veil issue?

BTM: I am exposing the actual thing she did, albeit incorrectly.

Mutumwa Mawere: Do you agree that the learned Judge erred in not having regard to the fact that it was THZH’s litigation that was before her and it was irrelevant as to who deposed to the affidavit in support of THZH’s application? What does equal justice under law mean to you? If Makarau did not honor this promise, do you on reflection think she is fit to be a judge?

Mutumwa Mawere: What does equal justice mean?

BTM: Indiscrimination e.g. non-discrimination of a specified person.

Mutumwa Mawere: I mean generally. Equal justice is usually taken to mean equal access to justice, which in turn is taken to mean access to law. But as is frequently noted, a purely procedural understanding by no means captures our aspirations and for a reason those who receive their “day in court” do not always feel that “justice has been done. Her reading of the law in relation to specification is what she relied upon to conclude as you do?

BTM: In my view, even though you were specified, you were not part of the dispute, but THZ though not so specified, she sought to use it still to barricade you from even testifying, and that was harsh on her part.

Mutumwa Mawere: Is this not a separate matter dealing with the limitations imposed on a specified person? Do you agree that the circumference of what a specified person can do or not is a subject matter that has yet to be sufficiently tested for a shared understanding to be established?

BTM: Yes. A company has separate legal persona from the natural person as per Salomon versus Salomon & Co Ltd (1897), however, the action of looking into the company to identify its owner/s is known as “piercing or lifting the corporate veil” as per the cases of Daimler Company Ltd v Continental Tyre Co (1916) or Gumede v Bandhla Vukani Bakiti (1950). Fraud cases often cause lifting of corporate veil to apply especially where corrupt shareowners or senior executives or owner managers operate under the guise of a company which they earmark for winding up in order to avoid heavy fines (such as the penalty of gaol) should their crimes land them in court (out of knowing the company cannot go to gaol).

Mutumwa Mawere: There was no dispute of fraud before Makarau as far as I know. Mawere was not a party to the proceedings. He was authorized by an aggrieved party. None of the companies in the cause were accused of fraud in this specific matter.

BTM: Yes the aggrieved party THZ gave permission to Mawere to be a witness. THZ wasn’t specified. It wasn’t under the investigator. Only Mawere was under the investigator’s ambit, albeit under a separate matter with nothing to do with Zimre. So I am trying as much to find out how strong or weak would be the thinking that THZ must have authorized Mawere through the investigator, or that Mawere himself for knowing he is under an investigator must have gone to the investigator and said THZ wants me witnessing do you permit it, or anything else along those lines? Help me to be full proof with just this part.

Mutumwa Mawere: The facts are as what they are. The judge was confronted with a case of whether to recognize the authority of an administrator to interpose himself in the affairs of separate juristic entities especially where constitutional and property rights were involved. Did she discharge this duty of defending rights? 

BTM: When asked to quantify, I am 90% towards saying No, she did not speculate. The question is on finding out how she reached that position and testing the strength or weakness of the pathway she used to getting to that.

Mutumwa Mawere: Why speculate when the primary basis is explained? According to her a specified person enjoys qualified rights even as a witness.

BTM: The judge says “if I have made an error I have another basis, we need to then give close scrutiny to that basis she only is fully or assuredly relying on it in coming to her ruling.

Mutumwa Mawere: We can only rely on what she converted into writing and not what could have been in her mind.

BTM: I thought that too, may be I went a bit further, that does it have to be stated in black and white or it has to be applied as a matter of a principle of law simply? It is why I started today with wanting to read cases where this principle of veil uncovering was used on my own.

Mutumwa Mawere: If you want to create a new dispute, then you can no longer rely on the judgment. The court was approached by parties to a dispute and that dispute was provoked and triggered by ZIMRE in proposing a rights issue and giving its directors powers to allocate shares without shareholders being given the opportunity to exercise their rights over this action that could have the effect of unfettered discretionary power being given to directors. 

BTM: No I do not want to create a new dispute. I am still dwelling on the ZIMRE judgment. 

Mutumwa Mawere: The issue was about the control of ZIMRE that was now a subject of conspiracy between the management of the company and the government whose actors had created a series of events to prevent any legal resistance to the corrupt scheme to take control via a purported rights offer.

BTM: This I located using the judgment yes. If you remember when I said “The second resolution of the ZIMRE EGM as read from the judgment sought to make a renounceable rights offer which would result in unissued shares controlled by the directors for an indefinite period.”

I went on to ask, “Was it, in your view, so as to create a vacuum for creation of a shareholder later on, thus diluting control later on?”

And stated that, “If yes one of the proxies of the two associate companies, which is you, whose vote against was acknowledged while that of Mr. De Bourbon was rejected, noticed this loophole and hence you wanted your proxy vote standing against such potentially calculated dilution (only borrowing a term from financial reporting it may stand akin to “aggressive accounting” whatever was being done, whereby citable laws/principles/rules/standards are used yes, but in a creative/evasion sense that the prudent/compliance sense). 

The above said, however, the other proxy representing the associate entities Endurite and UKI as appointed by the directors of the associate entities and per investigator’s approval may genuinely have not picked out this loophole or were in a deliberate ploy against their parent’s (THZ’s) stake or they acted the manner they did as part of seeking return favors from government (in the sense that since given both of them had been deemed as specified and could only do things through the investigator which on its own is a potential case of undue influence/duress), they so voted for the resolution and not in line with their parent. 

The judge too may have not picked the ‘statecraft’ but in using the umbrella of the specification order, picked a procedural wrong on your part thus the lack of locus standi based ruling reached in the ZIMRE judgment.”

Mutumwa Mawere: Therefore, the question would be whether the judge was blind to the scheme whose effect was to undermine the rights that the constitution compelled her to protect and defend. The idea is to focus on the key issues arising from what was before the Court and whether the promise of justice was met.

BTM: Furthermore, kindly note that below are 3 questions merged. In the case of Brown v British Abrassive Wheel Company (1919) on alteration of articles of association, the company needed additional finance and the majority shareholders holding 98% of capital were prepared to provide this if they could buy out the 2% minority. The minority refused to sell. The articles were then altered to give the majority shareholders the right to buy the 2% shares. It was held that such alteration was not for the benefit of the company. It amounted to oppression of the minority. What have you to say Mr. Mawere on the above case in relation to the ZIMRE judgment?

Am I observing right that in the ZIMRE judgment what the judge may have not noticed was a crafty intention to place renounceable rights in the hands of the directors for an indefinite period of time, but potentially this could lead to alteration of control of ZIMRE, creation of a swayed majority later, and lead to an effective buy out of a minority created from what was the associate stake of Endurite and UKI at first? Or simply to create a case of an Endurite and UKI which will now be a toothless bulldog say from having their stake altered from state of significant influence (associate status) to a simple interest. With this above also what becomes of interest is what has become of ZIMRE to date post the ZIMRE judgment of 2005, shareholder ship wise. May we benefit using hindsight?

Mutumwa Mawere: There is no suggestion that ZIMRE needed capital and this issue was not before the Court. The issue if it existed would have been known to UKI and Endurite. The significant shareholders of the company were deliberately left out of the loop and the case you refer to bears no resemblance to the true facts of the ZIMRE case. The judge was supposed to look at the facts and the law. The issue that the judge ought to have looked at is whether the Minister should have had the cake and eat it. He specified UKI, Endurite, SMM, and myself and in doing so became a gatekeeper to these parties from seeking the benefit of using the courts to defend their constitutional rights. The resolutions were passed and implemented resulting in the government’s nominees buying the shares placed under the control of ZIMRE directors.

BTM: According to our insolvency law, as governed by the Insolvency Act 06:04, insolvency in general occurs in two ways: first a debtor overweighed by his or her debt and cautiously pestered by his or her creditors recognizes that his or her position is precarious and voluntarily surrenders his or her own estate for the benefit of the creditors; and second, by way of compulsory sequestration whereby the creditors make a court application to have the debtor ordered as insolvent or taken to have committed an act of insolvency. Usually when he or she leaves the country or being out of the country or remains absent with intent to evade or delay the payment of debt. Is any of this particularly relevant to the matters of SMM kindly?

Critical to this is the Insolvency Act which seeks to rehabilitate, because the Insolvency estate remains in the hands of the trustee (basically the investigator in SMM’s case) until rehabilitation. The State clearly created something outside the law with the Presidential Powers regulations of 2004 used to place SMM on reconstruction and later went on to the courts in Nov 2005 to get that act graced at law now. A single creditor for SMM was created name the State, hence the use of phrase “State indebtedness”. Effectively a compulsory sequestration of SMM was sought by a solo creditor namely “the State” in a procedure more or less similar to that the Insolvency Act provides for, but in SMM’s case the Presidential Powers regulations remains an order coming from outside the confines of the law including the Insolvency Act itself. 

Because of this anomaly, I am failing to find how a compulsory reconstruction order as was created, alters the duties of a specified person (the insolvent person now officially declared so using a regulation as of 2004 created outside the law), duties which by and large are similar to duties of an insolvent person during sequestration? What was really going on?

Mutumwa Mawere: There is no comparison between the Insolvency Act and the Reconstruction Act. The Reconstruction Act presumes that a company is divisible into state indebted and Insolvent class and the rest that are not when a company is a company irrespective of who it is indebted to. The equality before the law doctrine precludes any creditor being a special one like the state. The constitution is founded on the doctrine of separation of powers that precludes the executive to assume powers reserved for the courts in the case of Insolvency. It is the court in the event of a dispute that has inherent jurisdiction to determine the existence of indebtedness between equal debtor/creditor parties. It is only when the indebtedness is established that the quantum can be ascertained by the court before insolvency can be tested and established. A creditor is barred from unilaterally establishing indebtedness, quantum and insolvency.

BTM: Furthermore, the duties of an insolvent person during sequestration cause all property he or she acquires to remain in the insolvent estate. He or she can enter into valid contracts but an appointed trustee (admin/investigator) can opt out if transaction prejudices the insolvent. He or she may also follow any profession or occupation or enter into employment contracts and may be sued or sue in his or her own rights, etc. Somehow, this Insolvency law is enforcing the insolvent person’s rights, and so, how come the Presidential Powers regulations of 2004 that the Minister used to allege the Insolvency claim and subsequently unleash a reconstruction order immediately, are more like usurping all the duties (effectively rights) a specified person has during reconstruction (sequestration)?

Is it the case that someone is was trying to implement the second way of coming up with insolvency, however, wrongly? That is, by way of compulsory sequestration whereby the creditors make a court application (but here State as a Solo creditor) would have the debtor ordered as insolvent or taken to have committed an act of insolvency as is usually the case when he or she leaves the country or being out of the country, or remains absent with intent to evade or delay the payment of his or her debt? Did the in the ZIMRE judgment the judge put all these things to test before coming to the position of the specified individual being improperly placed before the court?

Mutumwa Mawere: There should be no confusion as to whether insolvency is akin to reconstruction. Why would anyone have authored the Reconstruction Act if another remedy existed to achieve an intended end? The desired end could not be achieved without inventing new facts and circumstances. Specification was intended to cripple an aggrieved person from challenging the intended expropriation without compensation scheme. They knew or ought to have known that their actions would be challenged and so they preempted this by amputating any potential aggrieved parties. There was never an insolvency claim as you allege. The state was never a creditor of SMM to give it locus to benefit from the provisions of the Companies and Insolvency Act.

BTM: Is this the correct sequence of events to you, that in the ZIMRE judgment the judge threw away the key, the judge who is a person not necessarily the judiciary, threw away the keys, following an extra judicial specification that the judge placed reliance on, and that specification order turned out to in actual fact to be an asset freezing order that sought not to protect your rights as an insolvent/specified person as declared. That it turned out to be something else, what else did it turn out to be in your own view? Is it that it sought in actual fact to disarm you while the State dealt with your assets, while persons attached to it willy-nilly dealt a blow to your rights?

Mutumwa Mawere: The question is whether the Bill of Rights can be tempered by administrative measures involving a government official issuing an order that has the effect of divesting and depriving a person of rights including access to courts and being informed prior to any adverse order? SMM was never insolvent. Not sure where you are getting this notion. Just take the facts as they are than speculate.

Brian Tawanda Manyati is a Chartered Governor and an Accounting Technician. 

Contacts: LinkedIn – briantawandamanyati

Email – [email protected]

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