🌍💱 ADAPT: Transforming Africa’s Trade with Digital Public Infrastructure
Both #Stablecoins and Digital Public Infrastructure (#DPI) are generating global buzz—yet most initiatives focus on national solutions. Now, an ambitious project is combining both, claiming to redefine Africa’s digital future at scale: The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has launched ADAPT, a pan-African initiative in partnership with the IOTA Foundation, Tony Blair Institute, and World Economic Forum. This open-source digital public infrastructure is set to revolutionise cross-border trade by seamlessly integrating identity, data, and finance.
What they want to achieve:
- Double intra-African trade by 2035, unlocking over $70 billion in annual trade value.
- Reduce cross-border payment fees from 6–9% to below 3%, saving an estimated $25 billion annually.
- Cut border clearance times from up to 14 days to under 3 days through digitised, verifiable trade documents.
How It works:
ADAPT will establish a unified system for:
- Trusted digital identities for businesses and governments.
- Secure cross-border data exchange, supported by smart contracts and IoT tracking.
- Interoperable finance, connecting mobile money, banks, and stablecoins like USDT for faster, cheaper settlements.
Pilot phase:
Deployment is said to begin in Kenya, Ghana, and a third country in 2025–2026, with continental expansion by 2035. The initiative references successful pilots in Kenya and Rwanda, where digitalisation has already resulted in reduced clearance times and documentation costs.