However, with the recent approval of the National Blockchain Policy, comes a shining light at the end of the tunnel.

Similar to the Nigerian Startup Act, this approval comes with immense direct benefits for the tech ecosystem and the Nigerian economy by extension.

One of the key action points of this policy approval, is the call for Blockchain Education, as this will serve as the first responder that will eventually give birth to the multiple innovations expected to be seen in the coming years.

In response to this, Cyberchain, a brand-agnostic tech advocacy organization led by Mr. Jude Ozinegbe, a Digital Transformation Expert, has been at the forefront of empowering and educating Nigerians in the tech space, on the need to embrace Blockchain Technology and Digital Security. Cyberchain has organized a range of industry-focused events, including conferences, webinars, training sessions, and consultancy services, aimed at addressing the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the tech industry.

Over the past five years, Cyberchain has educated over 20,000 Nigerians on Web 3, the digital economy, and digital security.

In 2022, Cyberchain created awareness for Adaverse, a venture fund aggregator that provides funding, mentorship, and tech infrastructure to scale Web 3 solutions in Africa. It has also expanded its national footprint to five cities, including Akure, Uyo, Benin, Abuja, and Lagos, with plans to continue driving adoption to four additional cities this year, including Port Harcourt and Kano.

Cyberchain’s 2023 event calendar includes a series of industry-specific events, such as the Web 3 and Digital Economy Conference in May (Port Harcourt), July (Kano), September (Abuja), and November (Lagos), as well as a Tech Carnival in December (Lagos).

These human capacity development programs have been made possible by various organizations that have supported Cyberchain over the years, including Zinochrome, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Jelurida Africa, Digital Encode, Binance, Bitmama, TradeFada, ESET, RedSwan CRE, Pillow, BEI, Sabi Group, BoundlessPay, Gamic, Dexfiat, Picnic, and many others.

With the digital economy rapidly growing, the proper education and problem-solving skills provided by Cyberchain and its partners will help Nigeria become a global exporter of tech solutions in the future.

The Nigerian tech industry is expected to make more great strides in the years to come and Cyberchain is delighted to collaborate with well-meaning individuals and stakeholders within Nigeria and the diaspora to expand the frontiers of Blockchain in Nigeria and Africa.

Announcing Tradefada as the winner, the organizer said the company pulled the highest votes to emerge in the category, stressing that the award was keenly contested by four other companies.

“We are pleased to have the honour to announce Tradefada as a winner of this year’s Beacon of ICT Awards having gathered the highest votes in the ‘Blockchain Services Platform Provider of the Year (Crypto)’, it said at the award night, which attracted stakeholders from various segment of the ICT industry.

The organizer added that the award is a testament to Tradefada’s talents, innovations, contributions and commitments to the growth of the ICT industry.

Receiving the award on behalf of the company, excited Mr. Seun Dania, the Chief Executive Officer of Tradefada, noted that the award is a display of the fact that stakeholders have come to the realization that Tradefada has become a household brand in the industry, adding that it is happy that Nigerians have recognized its hard work, sincerity and dedication towards the development of ICT industry.

“We are excited to have received ‘Blockchain Services Platform Provider of the Year (Crypto)’ award. For us, it is exciting and a challenge to us to do more because to whom much is given, much is also expected,” he said.

While dedicating the award to its customers and dedicated staff, Mr. Seun promised that Tradefada will continue to provide an innovative platform that will allow most Africans to partake and adopt cryptocurrencies from their mobile devices and web browsers.

“We will also be exploring the new waves in the crypto space i.e. Metaverse and NFTs. We will also be providing a staking platform where our customers can safely stake their crypto and earn yearly % returns,” he assured.

Tradefada is a One-Stop Cryptocurrency exchange that combines the reliability and swiftness of a web-based exchange with the convenience and portability of a mobile app. Tradefada offers the ability to buy into the crypto market through various local Fiat currencies and trade on over 100 pairs of the top and most reliable cryptocurrencies.

Founded in 2017 by a duo of experienced digital currency traders with a vision to see Africa benefit immensely and achieve economic freedom by leveraging on cryptocurrencies, Tradefada provides solutions to all levels of cryptocurrency traders’ needs.

Tradefada services extend to 30+ countries, providing easy access to buy and sell crypto for various fiat currencies; made possible through strategic partnerships with excellent third-party service providers.

He founded Tradefada as an advanced and easy-to-use Nigerian cryptocurrency mobile application for buying, selling and exchanging Bitcoin

In this interview, he reviewed the past year and made projections about crypto market in 2022.

Excerpt:

The year 2021 has ended and now belongs in the annals of history, but how would you describe the year as an entrepreneur?

Seun: 2021 had its challenges and also came with several opportunities to innovate. With the uncertainties of COVID-19 variants across the globe, changes in govt regulations, policies etc.

I saw it as an opportunity for innovation. In looking for the right solutions, the team at Tradefada worked tirelessly to ensure the best service delivery.

Like every other year, 2021 had its challenges. What are those identified challenges you think must be addressed going forward.

Seun: In my primary industry, (blockchain and cryptocurrency) we faced a major challenge with the CBNs position on cryptocurrency trading.

It is necessary that the subject of regulation is addressed as Nigeria is losing great talents and businesses to countries that have clear cut regulation and licensing regime for cryptocurrency activities.

What is your rating of Tradefada in 2021, especially among its competitors?

Seun: I’d rate tradefada very high above the competition, as we all faced the same challenges from the CBN; it was a test for innovation.

In the course of the year, we at Tradefada sought out options for safe and compliant ways to do business, one of which is a cash voucher payment system which has come highly recommended and also doesn’t contradict the concerns of the apex bank.

We expanded our services to over 30 different countries, providing easy access to buy and sell crypto for various fiat currencies, from USD, GBP, RND, YEN, and so much more.

We also developed and launched a spot exchange where people can trade crypto-to-crypto in our bid to ensure the Nigerian populace do not miss out in the benefits that cryptocurrencies have to offer. This spot exchange also comes with Mobile apps for iOS and Android.

2022 is here, what are the services and products Nigerians should expect from Tradefada?

Seun: In 2022, Tradefada will be launching a brand-new app focused on African countries. This will allow most Africans to partake and adopt cryptocurrencies from their mobile devices and web browsers.

We will also be exploring the new waves in the crypto space i.e. Metaverse, NFTs,

We will also be providing a staking platform where our customers can safely stake their crypto and earn yearly % returns.

What are your predictions for the Fintech ecosystem in 2022?

Seun:

• Africa is the present and future and as such, I see the fintech ecosystem getting more Foreign Direct Investments in 2022, more unicorns will arise from within Africa which will aid in the building of projects that will solve the insistent challenges face in Africa and across the world.
• As we continue to build in Africa, the rest of the world also views Africa as the emerging and future market which has the potential to yield higher growth rates than advanced Nations, thereby making Africa the go-to destination for higher yield investments.
• More traditional banks will embrace fintech and provide better digital services.
• Financial institutions have long felt the pressure to both modernize their infrastructure and respond to changing customer demands and expectations. The obstacle for many is that they already face a complex array of urgent issues that constantly vie for management attention and investment.
• Customer expectations and preferences are redefining how traditional financial institutions deliver services. Legacy infrastructure is also a major stumbling block for financial institutions, some of which have been using the same mainframe systems for decades. Executives face frequent decisions about whether to allocate capital to keeping the lights on in the existing infrastructure or allocate it to digital development.
• One of the realisations from the COVID-19 pandemic is the fact that people can work virtually and be effective and efficient. Hence, to remain competitive in this constantly changing environment, transitioning from complex legacy technology environments to more agile operations, and creating more efficient compliance processes that fully satisfy evolving global and local regulations has moved fintech adoption to the top of the growth agenda for financial institutions.
• The banks will also embrace Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency
• Blockchain technology without a doubt has been well discoursed within the Bankers and the pros as we know outweigh the cons especially the significant reduction in the cost of doing business, ease of scale and  ability to limit theft/forgery. Building on the blockchain will provide the financial institutions the best foundation for further tech development
• Customers will be KING, as the fintech space expands, more businesses will start to focus on more customer-centric solutions. With more fintechs providing solutions aimed at solving day-to-day customer needs from Agri-tech, insure-tech, health-tech etc. every tech entrepreneur now needs to think about the customer first before launching a product. This will take the power away from the corporations and deliver it back to the customers. Fintech provides easier on and off-boarding than traditional services.
• More stringent regulation will be seen within the space
• As more fintech solutions are introduced, there definitely will be bad players within the space, the government will rise to the occasion to protect customers funds by providing frameworks for operating within the various fintech spaces. Lack of regulation permits for organizations to operate without being held to any industry standards.
• Retailers will adopt cryptocurrency and E-Naira, increasing embedded finance thereby making it easier for consumers to complete checkout on their personal devices. As the crypto adoption rate increases, more and more retailers, e-commerce platforms have been getting requests from their customers to accept cryptocurrencies. Mastercard and Visa, two of the largest payment gateways have also working on crypto adoption. For retail businesses to stay relevant, they’ll need to adopt and embed cryptocurrency payments into their business models.

In what ways do companies like Tradafada playing an active role in the digital economy space being championed by the federal government?

Seun: Tradefada as always ensured to engage with all industry stakeholders including the govt on how to best position Nigeria and take advantage of the digital economy.

We have actively supported educational brands and sponsored conferences which are in the business of disseminating information to all.

We are open to working with the CBN to achieve the full potential of the E-Naira, we believe that giving Nigerian’s access to crypto via the E-Naira will be a game changer for Nigeria with and all the volumes traded across peer-to-peer platforms.