Celo EU in Africa: A Journey of Innovation and Growth

After more than three weeks of hands-on experience in Africa, Celo EU has successfully reached one of its most important milestones for the second season.

This journey allowed us to engage with one of the fastest-growing ecosystems through three key events across two countries.

Here’s a summary of this incredible experience, where we built relationships and fostered innovation in the dynamic African Web3 community.

Discovering the Builders' Community: One of the core objectives at Celo EU is to create long-term relationships. During our time in Africa, we connected with local builders, listening and learning from their motivations behind various projects. This was achieved through participation in multiple events, both Celo and non-Celo-centric.We began our journey with an event organized by Impact+, a project bridging Web3 with impact. This hackathon, held in collaboration with M-Pesa, Privado ID, and Polygon, introduced us to the thriving African builders' community.

It was clear that this ecosystem is solutions-driven, with builders focused more on real-world impact than on specific technologies. In environments with limited liquidity and investment, loyalty often leans toward opportunities rather than tech stacks.Many of the solutions presented at the hackathon were focused on RWA Lending, Digital Payments, and Cross-border Payments, themes we would encounter repeatedly throughout our journey. Despite over 30% of the population being unbanked, the widespread use of M-Pesa has contributed to a highly digitalized society, setting the stage for blockchain solutions to thrive.Special thanks to Andrea and Ibrahim for inviting us. Andrea, a former lead at Casa Celo, and Ibrahim, a prominent local builder focused on ReFi and impact, shared their invaluable insights and experiences throughout our stay.

Haraka Field Trip: For those unfamiliar, Haraka is a protocol providing micro-lending solutions for African communities. This trip, organized by Haraka in partnership with ClixPesa and Mento Labs, allowed us to witness how cKES (Kenya Shilling stablecoin) is making a difference in grassroots financing. We engaged with local communities to better understand how these services could be enhanced.Our conversations revealed the importance of chamas, community-led groups based on trust and shared goals. Despite their informal nature, chamas operate with a level of sophistication that ensures financial stability through shared savings, strict onboarding processes, and accountability.While these groups may seem simple, their structure is highly effective.

Local reputation, handwritten ledgers, and transparent financial interactions make chamas invaluable for accessing finance. Blockchain, particularly through cKES, can elevate these systems to improve efficiency and scalability, increasing financial inclusion. It's astonishing how a relatively small amount of money, such as $1,000, can have such a high impact on these communities by enabling them to increase inventory and improve sales, while also generating a return for investors.We had the chance to create an aftermovie of the Haraka Field Trip, and an extended version delving into that experience is being cooked in Celo EU kitchens right now.

Celo Africa Gather: This event marked one of the milestones of the season, and we must congratulate the Celo Africa DAO community for its remarkable success. With participants from Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Israel, Europe, and beyond, it was a true celebration of blockchain's potential and its real-world applications.During the two-day event, Celo-centric activities included the Celo Foundation Dinner, a happy hour, and a Celo Workshop supported by cLabs and MiniPay, with over 30 developers attending.

Celo EU provided branding, design, and media coverage, maintaining the style from the Celo Berlin gathering in May.We are incredibly proud of the work done by the community and are excited to see where this journey leads.Joan had the chance to talk about the need for reshaping the current financial markets structure, bridging high-liquid economies with emerging markets and learning from them, building from grassroots. Celo EU team also produced an aftermovie of the event, maintaining the high quality delivered during the past months.

Eth Safari: After the Nairobi events, we embarked on a memorable 12-hour road trip to Kilifi. The journey gave us a deeper understanding of Kenya's social and financial networks, where M-Pesa dominates and government infrastructure is often lacking.At Eth Safari, we engaged in three days of panels, discussions, and hands-on workshops with various local stakeholders. The event's setting—under the shade of a baobab tree—offered a truly unique atmosphere. Celo had a strong presence throughout the event, with several talks and round panels by different people from the ecosystem, including Mento Labs, Celo Foundation, MiniPay, FondBank, Celo EU, Celo Africa, and more.We want to extend our gratitude to the Eth Safari team for allowing us to contribute to the visibility of such a significant event. Here you can find the Eth Safari aftermovie.

RWA Research: During the past years, Joan has been focused on Real-World Asset (RWA) Lending solutions, aiming to build liquidity bridges between developed and emerging markets. Throughout the past three weeks, we conducted over three hours of interviews with leading protocols such as ClixPesa, Haraka, Mento, MiniPay, and more.These interviews helped us better understand the local ecosystem, the regulatory landscape, and the challenges and opportunities ahead. As Europeans, we have much to learn from African builders. This research underscores the immense potential for RWAs to reshape Africa's and other emerging markets' financial landscape and the need to change the traditional mindset.

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Opera MiniPay Documentary: We traveled through Kenya and Nigeria to film a short documentary about MiniPay and its impact on financial inclusion in Africa. During our trip, we saw firsthand how MiniPay simplifies payments—from buying groceries and booking safaris in Kenya to paying merchants and tipping drivers in Nigeria. The seamless cross-border transactions and integration with local payment methods like M-Pesa and bank transfers truly showcase MiniPay's potential to empower users across the continent.A deep report by Niko can be found here, explaining the benefits of using MiniPay. Stay tuned for more insights from our documentary and follow-up reflections, where we dive into how MiniPay is changing the game for digital payments in Africa!