Nigeria Aims To Overcome Language Challenges in Web3 Education

Despite Nigeria’s high level of awareness regarding blockchain and cryptocurrency, there are still challenges related to public education in this field.

The Stakeholders in the Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN) hosted a Digital Assets Summit in Abuja, the nation’s capital, where local experts discussed these education challenges. During the Web3 Education: Capacity Building panel, the group examined the current level of blockchain and Web3 awareness in the country, along with the challenges that have emerged in their journey so far.

According to Bello Usman Abdullahi, the chief operating officer of Bitkova Academy, a blockchain education platform, the complexity of blockchain technology and its jargon make the language barrier a significant challenge.

With over 500 spoken languages, Nigeria is one of the world’s most linguistically diverse countries. However, local blockchain hubs are now educating people in local Nigerian languages unfamiliar with blockchain technology. Abdullahi believed that it is critical to assist newcomers to blockchain technology and Web3 in understanding the objectives of Satoshi Nakamoto. This is particularly important to address the fear and negativity generated in the minds of citizens by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the government, he said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria cut ties between local banks and cryptocurrency exchange firms in February 2021. Abdullahi believes that this action by the government and CBN hindered the promotion of blockchain awareness in Nigeria, leading to negative associations between blockchain and crypto.

According to Google Trends data, Nigeria’s interest in cryptocurrency has decreased, which shows that the country has dropped from its previous top position to second place in the world in terms of search interest for Bitcoin.