Bitcoin is going to revolutionize the remittance market. Yeah, you have probably heard that one before, but when you tie a story with that statement it becomes a lot more powerful.
BitcoinFilm.org has released a short documentary on how Bitcoin is empowering Ugandans.
About 700 million USD is transferred back to Uganda every year with Western Union and MoneyGram taking 10-20% of the money people send to their families.
Nsubugar Ronald, a 20 year-old student studying accounting and finance, knows how helpful Bitcoin can be from his own experience. Sending money to Makindye, where Ronald lives in Kampala, Uganda, takes two days. Bitcoin … seconds.
I met James D’Angelo at the Texas Bitcoin Conference and he told me the first time he sent Bitcoin to Ronald.
James sent it, Ronald got it, simple as that. Ronald then went to town and then exchanged his Bitcoins for Ugandan shillings.
“In Uganda, remittances are double the country’s income from its main export of coffee.” – World Bank
Bitcoin is great for Uganda because Ugandans can have their wallet on their phones which they already use to listen to music, browse the web and make phone calls. Despite being a developing country, Kampala, Uganda has 4G LTE networks and Google is bringing fiber optic cables to Uganda through Project Link — so the infrastructure is there to make Bitcoin successful.
Bitcoin is truly empowering the unbanked by giving them a viable alternative to send, receive and store their money without money grabbers taking a cut.
The on-campus organization I am a part of, Nourish International – University of Florida chapter, has also played a part in the future of Uganda. This year we raised over $4,ooo to build school facilities including a vegetable garden and a goat-rearing business in Masaka, Uganda. Of that $4,000, $1,000 dollars of it was raised in Bitcoin thanks to bitcoin100.org.
My coursemate actually left yesterday to go on the project and teach entrepreneurship classes and make the goat-rearing business successful enough to provide tuition for the students who go to Hope Academy. Bitcoin is not just providing a source of income in Uganda, but an education, a livelihood and food through sustainable practices.
[ot-video type=”youtube” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrRXP1tp6Kw&feature=share&list=UU42Y8ajCzQ_rjS_wVTamglQ”]
BitcoinFilm.org has another short documentary you may be interested in on how Bitcoin is helping Argentina’s organic farmers.
[textmarker color=”C24000″]Source[/textmarker] World Bank