This archive report was first published on 13 August 2019.
On August 13, 2019, Zolango, an ecommerce marketplace, went live in Kenya, allowing users to buy and sell products using Bitcoin.
The platform, founded by Amit Aggarwal, Andrei Kaleis, and MVK, offers over 1,000 items for sale, including sports equipment, office supplies, jewelry, freelancer services, fashion, electronic accessories, gift cards, and books.
MVK, who grew up in Mlango Kubwa slums in Nairobi, Kenya, aims to use Zolango to eradicate extreme poverty and despair. He believes that the platform can help create an alternate economy, where people can earn and spend in Bitcoin.
Unlike eBay and Amazon, which charge monthly fees, referral fees, and closing fees, Zolango charges just a one percent commission to help keep prices low. The platform also uses an escrow system to ensure safe transactions and keeps seller data private.
However, the use of Bitcoin as a payment method has its limitations. PayFast, a South African firm, recently ended support for Bitcoin citing high transaction fees and long confirmation times.
According to PayFast, the Bitcoin network can only handle about 7 transactions per second, compared to Visa's 24,000 transactions per second. This slow performance and computational power consumed to validate Bitcoin transactions make it a less practical substitute for cash.
