According to a press release issued on Saturday, the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) is in talks with cryptocurrency exchange Binance about creating a virtual free zone focused on blockchain and the digital economy.
Though still at the preliminary stage, NEPZA intimated the public about this on its Twitter page.
“NEPZA is in discussions on partnership with Binance and Talent City for the first Virtual Free Zone in West Africa similar to the Dubai Virtual Free Zone. At Preliminary meetings in Dubai, this week are Nadeem Ladki (Binance Executive Director-Regional Strategic Partnerships).”
NEPZA, which aids in governing and managing free zones across the nation, wants the outcome to resemble Dubai’s virtual free zone. Binance promised to help Dubai become an industry hub for global digital assets in December 2021. The goal was to encourage long-term economic growth and encourage a variety of cryptocurrency businesses to get licenses in the Emirate.
Adesoji Adesugba, General Director of NEPZA, stated in the announcement, “Our goal is to engender a flourishing virtual free zone to take advantage of a near trillion dollar virtual economy in blockchains and the digital economy.”
The NEPZA director believes this will increase opportunities for residents while also boosting the country’s digital economy. He stated,
“We seek to break new grounds to widen economic opportunities for our citizens in line with the mandate of the Authority, the directive of the Honourable Minister, and the economic development agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
The proposal comes after the debut of the “e-Naira”, the second-ever digital currency in the world—after the Bahamas’ sand dollar—by Nigeria’s Central Bank in October 2021. The eNaira has been used for transactions totaling 4 billion Naira ($9.2 million) as of the end of August.
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