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Discover The latest Bitcoin Platform that allows anyone to easily spend Bitcoin anywhere in Kenya.
During a visit to the African Bitcoin Conference in Ghana in 2023, the team learned that the Asante people had a deity of Thunder and Lightning known as Tando.
At the conference, they were also inspired by a powerful talk from Femi Longe, who said, “Africans need to build Bitcoin solutions for Africans.”
With that newfound knowledge and inspiration from the trip to Ghana, they returned to Kenya with a fire in their belly to build something revolutionary.
In this article, we will uncover how Tando was developed, why it is a revolutionary technology likely to increase Bitcoin adoption in Kenya, their current challenges and how anyone, anywhere in Kenya, can pay with Bitcoin using their Blink Wallet and other Bitcoin Wallet through Tando.
Kenya is one of Africa's early adopters of Bitcoin and has the highest percentage of its population using cryptocurrencies on the continent. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 8.5% of Kenya’s population, or 4.25 million people, own cryptocurrencies. This highlights the growing influence of digital currencies on the country's economy.
However, many Bitcoin holders in Kenya were growing frustrated with simply holding their Bitcoin. They wanted to see it used as a medium of exchange for daily transactions, rather than just as a store of value. They understood that once more people experienced the possibilities of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange, they would be more likely to adopt it, bringing even more users to the network.
This need created a challenge for early Bitcoin adopters—until the solution arrived with Tando.
It took the team months of non-stop research to uncover that most people in Kenya prefer to use Bitcoin as a way to make payments (as a Medium of Exchange) first, and as a way to save money (as a Store of Value) second. This finding is different from how Bitcoin is typically viewed in the West, where it is often seen primarily as a store of value.
Recognizing this opportunity, the Tando Team set out to help 54 million Kenyans transition from using KES to BTC for everyday payments. Their goal was to create an easy-to-use app, similar to the widely-used M-Pesa, but with one key difference—Bitcoin as the primary currency for payments.
Just as Kenya revolutionized mobile money with M-Pesa, it is now making another significant leap with Tando and Bitcoin. Tando has the potential to be a pivotal tool in driving Bitcoin adoption in the country. Kenyans are already well-versed in mobile money, with 98% of the population using M-Pesa, which provides a strong foundation for understanding digital currencies. Unlike in regions where mobile money is not prevalent, the concept of Bitcoin is more familiar to Kenyans. With Tando, Bitcoin is now seamlessly integrated into Kenya’s mobile money payment systems via the Lightning network.
Tando allows anyone in Kenya to easily spend bitcoin by integrating the Lightning Network with existing fiat/mobile money payment rails hence providing an easy way for anyone to spend their bitcoin at ease, speed and at zero cost since they do not charge any transaction fees.
Before Tando, there was no easy way to spend your bitcoin directly anywhere in Kenya, well, unless a merchant accepted bitcoin, which is rare to find. The only way you could spend your bitcoin was by selling it for USD then exchange USD for Kenyan shillings, then wait for Kenyan shillings to reflect in your bank or mobile money account, and then finally spend that cash to cater for your needs. So it was a four step process that consumed a lot of time and fees (and sometimes frustration) .
So then Tando comes in and automates that four-step process into a simple one-step process, i.e, converting your BTC to KES directly into the recipient's account. So you get to spend your BTC with ease at zero cost and the merchant receives their fiat smoothly on the other end without any need for them to update their own business processes.
Here’s an early preview version of the first Proof of Concept:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Q0mSaTFKI
And here are a few videos of Tando being used out in the wild:
Check out these videos >>
Bridging a legacy system with a new tech stack often comes with its challenges. However, within these challenges lies an opportunity. Tando is able to identify issues early on and develop a robust solution, positioning itself as a leader in the market.
Tando is committed to achieving greatness, and with time, collaboration, and continued support, they are sure to reach their goal!
A special thank you to Sabina for her assistance with this article!
Thank you for reading.
Does Tando integrate the Lightning Network for all transactions ?
Yes, Tando supports Lightning.
This is because of its speed, as they wanted to give people a similar experience to using mobile money or mastercards, but of course using bitcoin as our foundation. And additionally prove to people that Lightning is even faster than traditional payment methods.
What is Tando's goal?
We always joke around internally with the team that our goal is to go out of business because all merchants accept bitcoin payments natively and no one needs Tando anymore! Of course that’s a long way off and we will have plenty of time to pivot wherever the opportunity lies to continue to provide value to the bitcoin network.
Until then, our primary goal is to be the best bitcoin spending app in Kenya by providing the best and fastest way to spend your bitcoin. If we succeed in that, we will certainly look into other mobile money providers in Kenya and outside Kenya. The sky's the limit.
