The Payment Problem Blockchain Is Solving in Africa ft. Nzwisisa Chidembo

Описание: On this episode of My Tech Story Africa, host Alice Kanjejo sits down with Nzwisisa Chidembo , founder and Ceo of Riskbloq with over 18 years of experience building payment infrastructure and blockchain solutions across Africa.

His journey began early,starting work and university at 16, shaped by watching his father pioneer telecommunications across Africa. Those formative experiences taught him that African founders don't need to copy-paste Western solutions.

Instead, they can build on what already works locally. When mobile payments like EcoCash emerged in Zimbabwe, he recognized their potential to leapfrog traditional card systems entirely. His e-commerce experiment proved customers would trust mobile payments for products they'd never seen a turning point that revealed Africa's readiness for digital commerce.

But mobile payments still faced cross-border friction. This led Nzwisisa down the blockchain rabbit hole, from the Bitcoin whitepaper to Ethereum smart contracts. He saw an opportunity: blockchain could provide the Internet-native payment layer that had always been missing, enabling true global participation without intermediaries. This insight sparked RiskBloq, his current venture building risk assessment tools that help institutional investors navigate the digital asset ecosystem with transparency and governance.

Throughout the conversation, Nzwisisa emphasizes what Western assumptions miss: Africa's fragmented markets require boots-on-the-ground understanding. Successful founders embed themselves in existing communities rather than building from scratch. They think about scale from day one while respecting local nuances that can't be copy-pasted across borders.

He also confronts a hard truth about African venture capital: the funding pool remains small and concentrated in fintech, leaving other sectors starved despite their potential. What Africa needs, Nzwisisa argues, is patient, diverse capital that understands the continent develops at its own pace, not unicorns in two years, but sustainable businesses that create jobs and economic diversity.

From mobile money agents digitizing 95% of Zimbabwe's GDP to AI-powered customer experience solutions with IBM Watson, Nzwisisa’s career proves that Africa isn't playing catch-up. It's building the future on its own terms.

To keep up with Nzwisisa Chidembo check out his LinkedIn:  / nzwisisa  
Check out Riskbloq:https://www.riskbloq.com/

Shot at Workshop17 :https://www.workshop17.co.za/

00:00 Intro
01:35 Meet Nzwisisa Chidembo
02:26 Early Influences: Growing Up in African Telecom
04:26 Mobile Payments Revolution in Africa
06:18 Building Trust Through E-Commerce
07:55 From Mobile Money to Blockchain
10:39 Bitcoin White Paper Explained
12:07 How RiskBlock Works
14:40 Why Blockchain for Financial Infrastructure
17:15 What led to Riskbloq
18:58 Western Assumptions vs. African Reality
20:04 Product-Market Fit: How to Get Close to Your African Customers
21:40 Working Across Telco, AI, Blockchain & VC
25:04 What African Founders Need Beyond Funding
29:25 Why Africa Is the Best Testing Ground for Tech Innovation
32:11 Scaling Without Losing Local Nuance

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