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The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele has said the introduction of e-Naira to Nigeria’s payment space will boost trade, investments and other economic activities in the country.

Speaking yesterday on innovation in Nigeria’s payments system ecosystem, he said the registration for the eNaira hackathon, geared towards ideating innovative solutions for the newly launched digital currency, organised by the Africa Fintech Foundry (an innovative hub established to identify and accelerate innovative startups in Africa), in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is billed to open on June 27, 2022 and run till July 21, 2022.

According to the organisers,  the main event, which is billed to kick off from August 4,  is part of efforts to drive financial inclusion, facilitate macroeconomic growth and integrate Nigerian economy to the world leading economies through innovation and cutting edge emerging technologies. It therefore urged interested participants to visit the eNaira Hackathon to register from June 27, 2022.

With the theme: “eNaira – Africa’s Gateway to a Digital Economy,” the hybrid hackathon will bring together teams of talented entrepreneurs, developers, designers, solution developers, problem-solvers, out-of-the-box thinkers, and code magicians from Africa to develop innovative solutions that will drive improved adoption of the eNaira.

Emefiele  said: “We cannot deny the fact that the newly introduced CBDC (eNaira) would be necessary in the future to ensure Nigeria is competitive as the world becomes increasingly digital. We have seen in the past few years  how digital currencies have opened international economies to individuals who wield them and how seamless they have made trading, buying, investing and other economic activities.

“We desire to achieve this and more with the eNaira with the underlying goal to boost Nigeria’s economic outlook. Innovators at the hackathon will develop solutions in the areas of international remittance, trans-border payment, blockchain, financial inclusion, and trade (AfCTFA),” he added.

The statement issued by the organisers said the hackathon will address the strategic points to eliminate possible glitches that could hamper smooth transactions being carried out with the eNaira.

Innovators have been invited to design an eNaira that will address blockchain and international remittances among other financial services.

To realise this, registration for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) eNaira hackathon, has been slated to open on June 27, and run till July 21, 2022.

The hackathon will bring together individuals with innovative solutions for the newly launched digital currency.

The hybrid hackathon will bring together teams of talented entrepreneurs, developers, designers, solution developers, problem-solvers, out-of-the-box thinkers, and code magicians from Africa to develop innovative solutions that will drive improved adoption of the eNaira.

A statement from the CBN yesterday in Abuja quoted the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele as saying that “we cannot deny the fact that the newly introduced CBDC (eNaira) would be necessary in the future to ensure Nigeria is competitive as the world becomes increasingly digital”.

“We have seen in the past few years how digital currencies have opened international economies to individuals who wield them and how seamless they have made trading, buying, investing and other economic activities” he said.

“Innovators at the hackathon will develop solutions in the areas of international remittance, trans-border payment, blockchain, financial inclusion, and trade (AfCTFA),” Emefiele said.

Emefiele added that the desire of the CBN is “to achieve this and more with the eNaira with the underlying goal to boost Nigeria’s economic outlook”.

The eNaira hackathon is organised by the Africa Fintech Foundry (an innovative hub established to identify and accelerate innovative startups in Africa), in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The organisers said the main event, which is billed to kick-off from August 4, 2022, “is part of efforts to drive financial inclusion, facilitate macroeconomic growth and integrate Nigerian economy to the world leading economies through innovation and cutting edge emerging technologies”.

It therefore urged interested participants to visit the eNaira Hackathon www.affcbnhack.com to register from June 27, 2022.

The organisers said the hackathon will address the strategic points to eliminate possible glitches that could hamper smooth transactions being carried out with the eNaira.