African digital asset exchange, Busha, said stablecoins could help unlock cross-border trade and deepen the continent’s participation in the global economy, as industry leaders gathered at the Africa Tech Summit Nairobi last week.
Speaking on a panel titled “Connecting to the Global Economy: How Stablecoins Are Solving Real African Problems,” Moyo Sodipo, Busha’s chief operating officer, said the conversation around digital assets in Africa needs to move beyond price swings and speculative trading.
“The real opportunity is infrastructure. We should be focused on how digital assets solve real business problems, payments, trade, settlement and access,” Sodipo told attendees.
Across much of Africa, businesses face delays and high fees when making international payments, partly due to limited correspondent banking relationships and currency volatility.
Stablecoins, digital tokens typically pegged to major currencies such as the U.S. dollar, are increasingly being used by companies to settle invoices, pay suppliers and move funds across borders more quickly.
Sodipo said blockchain-based transactions offer transparency that can help address concerns around trust. By providing traceable records and clearer documentation, stablecoins can improve monitoring and compliance, he added.
He also called for the development of more locally issued stablecoins to reduce reliance on foreign-denominated alternatives. Building such products would require collaboration between traditional financial institutions and digital asset platforms rather than rivalry, he said.
“Success for Africa’s financial ecosystem will come from collaboration,” Sodipo said, adding that banks and exchanges need to work together to enable smoother movement of value across markets.
On the sidelines of the summit, Busha hosted an industry mixer in partnership with Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer. Senior executives from Tether’s Africa operations attended the event, underscoring growing interest among global players in the continent’s digital finance sector.
Busha said its partnership with Tether is aimed at expanding stablecoin adoption in emerging markets and strengthening links between African businesses and the global economy.
Through its Busha Business platform, the company provides enterprises and financial technology firms with access to digital assets and stablecoin-based solutions designed to meet compliance standards.
As regulators across Africa continue to study digital asset frameworks, industry executives at the Nairobi summit said clearer rules and stronger institutional partnerships would be key to scaling adoption.
For Busha, the message was straightforward: stablecoins are no longer just a trading tool but a practical instrument for trade, remittances and financial inclusion, if backed by trust, regulation and cooperation.
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