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Yellow Card introduces USD Coin (USDC) on Stellar Network for Lightning-Fast Cross-Border Transactions

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USDC

With USDC on Stellar, Yellow Card users gain access to expedited transactions, enhancing the convenience and utility of their digital currency dealings

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LAGOS, Nigeria, February 13, 2024/APO Group/ — 

As Africa slowly inches towards widespread adoption of digital assets, it has become imperative that exchanges provide more cost-effective ways for buying, selling, receiving, and sending other digital assets. Among these assets, stablecoins have emerged as the preferred option for people seeking to invest, send remittances, and make cross-border payments. The preference hinges on the fact that stablecoins are tied to the value of the dollar, which protects against inflation and eliminates the fear of volatility that is seen with other digital assets.

On this premise, Yellow Card, the largest and only licensed stablecoin on/off ramp on the African continent, is set to introduce USDC (https://apo-opa.co/3SEUG5l), a digital stablecoin on the Stellar network, an open-source decentralised blockchain network, revolutionising cross-border payments, remittances, and treasury management globally.

Empowering Financial Transactions with USDC on Stellar

Yellow Card (https://YellowCard.io), known for its user-friendly platform and expansive presence across 20 African countries, is set to elevate user experience by integrating USDC on the Stellar network. This integration combines the robust features of the Stellar network, such as low transaction fees and lightning-fast transactions with the rapid growth of one of the world’s fastest-growing digital currencies, USDC, offering users a seamless, near-instant, and cost-effective solution for various financial transactions. With this integration, users on the Yellow Card app can now send USDC on the Stellar network.

Game-Changing Convenience for Yellow Card Users

With USDC on Stellar, Yellow Card users gain access to expedited transactions, enhancing the convenience and utility of their digital currency dealings. This partnership marks a significant milestone in the digital assets and blockchain industry, with the potential to reshape global payments and drive widespread digital currency adoption.

Chris Maurice, Yellow Card’s CEO, expressed excitement about the integration, stating, “We are thrilled to bring USDC on Stellar to our users. This is a giant leap forward for global payments, making it easier, faster, and more affordable for people around the world to access and utilise digital dollars.”

This is a giant leap forward for global payments, making it easier, faster, and more affordable for people around the world to access and utilise digital dollars

Stellar Network’s Prime Performance in Financial Products and Services

The Stellar blockchain, tailored for everyday financial products and services, boasts speed, scalability, and sustainability. The emphasis on optimising payments ensures low fees and transaction speeds that scale with increased adoption. Having processed billions of operations with millions of accounts since its launch, Stellar is a trusted choice for financial institutions and innovators worldwide.

Instant Global Transactions and Accessibility

A key feature of the Yellow Card-Stellar integration is the ability for consumers to instantly send and receive digital dollars globally. This convenience extends to users without a traditional bank account, as the Yellow Card App facilitates these transactions seamlessly.

Revolutionising Financial Infrastructure with USDC on Stellar

One of the major challenges people in Africa face with making cross-border payments is hidden charges. There are several cases where people try to send money to loved ones in a different country but end up losing a significant part of the money to fees and hidden charges. Yellow Card understands this, so their users stand to gain significantly from this collaboration as transferring USDC to other USDC-supported exchanges on the Stellar network is much cheaper compared to other blockchain networks. This is in addition to its already existent cross-border payment feature Yellow Pay (https://apo-opa.co/3wfJ1m6), a stablecoin-powered transfer feature.

The app will now serve as a crucial access point for companies and users seeking to leverage the efficiency and speed of the Stellar network. USDC on Stellar enables near-zero transaction costs, swift settlement, and transactions finalised in as little as 3 seconds. This positions Yellow Card as a facilitator for fintechs, and exchanges to harness the speed and low costs of USDC on Stellar for various use cases, from remittances to real-time payments.

To further empower its users, Yellow Card is set to  award $5 USDC to customers who send at least $3 USDC using the Stellar network on the App. This will help introduce this new technology to users where they can experience -fast transaction speeds of the network. It’s a win-win for users.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Yellow Card Financial.

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Ministers among hundreds of energy-sector leaders to attend AOW event

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Sinclair

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

AOW: Investing in African Energy (https://AOWEnergy.com) – Africa’s leading oil, gas and energy event – has confirmed attendance for more than 80 ministers and senior officials, representing African governments, energy departments and regulators at next month’s event.

These influential stakeholders will be among the more than 1 600 senior delegates and industry leaders who will be attending the event to develop policy, share discoveries, secure investment, and shape Africa’s energy future.

The event kicks off with an invitation-only ministerial symposium focused on the theme of “Fostering innovation, attracting investment, and promoting sustainable growth in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.”

Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention

Among the officials and government ministers attending will be energy leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Eswatini, Uganda, CAR, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Malawi, Morocco, Zanzibar, Liberia, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone.

In addition, the event will feature high-level delegations from numerous national oil companies, as well as multilateral bodies including the African Union, (AU), African Energy Commission (AFREC), African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

AOW will see these energy leaders networking with C-suite executives and decision-makers from more than 760 top energy companies at daily networking events, to discuss insights, forge new relationships, and negotiate major energy deals.

“We are so excited to see the calibre of delegates at this year’s AOW event,” says Chief Executive Officer of Sankofa Events, Paul Sinclair. “Given the recent major oil-and-gas discoveries across Africa, the energy transition and major geopolitical events, it is clear that the energy sector needs positive intervention. The high-powered attendance proves AOW is a key platform to enable this intervention.”

Key themes to be discussed at this year’s AOW will be sustainable upstream development; expanding gas value chains; renewables and new energies; adoption of best-in-class technologies; and access to finance.

AOW: Investing in African Energy will culminate in a special anniversary party at Groot Constantia Vineyard to celebrate 30 years of the AOW event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of AOW: Investing in African Energy.

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Afreximbank approves US$20.8 million for Starlink Global’s cashew factory project in Lagos

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The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs

CAIRO, Egypt, October 4, 2024/APO Group/ — 

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has approved a US$20.8 million financing facility for Nigeria-based Starlink Global & Ideal Limited to enable the company construct and operate a 30,000-metric tonne per annum cashew processing factory in Lagos.

We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria

According to the facility agreement signed in on July 22, 2024, Afreximbank will provide the funds in two tranches with the first tranche of US$7.48M going toward capital expenditure for the construction of the factory and the second, totalling US$13.25M to be deployed as working capital for the operations of the factory.

The facility is expected to promote value addition which will guarantee increased earnings to the company while also fostering the creation of about 400 new jobs once the factory becomes operational. It is also expected to support about 40 small and medium-sized enterprises.

Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra Africa Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said that by supporting Starlink Global to establish a modern processing facility, Afreximbank is making it possible for Africa to add value to its agro-commodities, thereby facilitating exports and subsequent inflow of much-needed foreign exchange into the continent.

“We are delighted at this partnership which promises to deliver significant impact on employment in Nigeria. It will contribute to value creation and to the development of the local community while also improving the lots of smallholder farmers and small business suppliers that will work with Starlink across the value chain,” Mrs. Awani added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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Sonangol to Lead Decarbonized Oil & Gas (O&G) Development, Says Angolan National Oil Company (NOC) Head

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Sonangol

Participating in an on-stage interview at Angola Oil & Gas 2024, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins emphasized that oil and gas remains a core focus for the national oil company

LUANDA, Angola, October 3, 2024/APO Group/ — 

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol reiterated its commitment to driving sustainable hydrocarbon development during the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) conference this week. Speaking during an “In-Conversation with” session, Sonangol CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins stated that the company will not abandon oil and gas, but rather advance decarbonized oil and gas development.

We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas

By investing in upstream oil and gas production while prioritizing low-carbon projects, Sonangol aims to boost national crude output, while diversifying and decarbonizing the industry. The NOC is focusing efforts on non-associated gas development, as well as alternative energy sources such as solar.

“We are looking at opportunities in the gas sector and have identified the right partner to develop non-associated gas. Gas produced from Angola LNG will be used for the production of fertilizer and we are evaluating the utilization of gas in the south of the country, linking gas with steel industries. We also have a blue carbon project, linked to the reduction of carbon through the plantation of mangroves. We have one area in Luanda and have identified four additional areas for this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Sonangol has undergone transformation in recent years: following the creation of the National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) in 2019, Sonangol transferred its role as national concessionaire and regulator. This transformation has aimed to make Sonangol more competitive and strengthen its capacity as an upstream operator. Concurrently, the government is partially privatizing the NOC, with privatization set to be complete in 2026. This process will enhance financial capacity, allowing Sonangol to drive new upstream projects forward.

“The transformation of Sonangol started several years ago, when we passed the regulatory, concessionaire role to the ANPG. At the time, we transferred almost 600 employees to the ANPG. After that, Sonangol underwent a restructuring program where we created five core business units from 36 different entities – starting with exploration and production. We want to go public, but we want to do it properly. So, we are currently going through all the processes to do this,” stated Gaspar Martins.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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