Nigeria’s Central Bank has partnered with blockchain technology firm Gluwa Nigeria to boost the adoption and efficiency of the country’s eNaira digital currency.
The central bank is planning to issue application programming interfaces (APIs) to Gluwa for integration with the company’s Credal blockchain technology.
Connecting through Credal is intended to ensure easier loan origination, tracking, settlement, and credit scoring for local fintech lenders.
The “core objective is to harness the power of blockchain technology to enhance financial inclusion, improve eNaira functionality, and foster financial innovation,” Gluwa said in a press release.
Nigeria has been trying to broaden acceptance of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) since its launch in 2021.
According to reports, fewer than 1.15 million Nigerians in October 2022 had used the eNaira.
However, the number of eNaira wallets increased more than 12-fold between October 2022 and March 2023 to 13 million and the value of transactions climbed 63% to 22 billion naira ($14 million) in the first four months of last year.
