During the COVID-19 era, many young people from African countries returned to their home countries. As a lover of Bitcoin, Ovidi not only brought the concept of economic freedom back to Zimbabwe. It also used BTC to launch two businesses, imported automobile trade and international payment.
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In Zimbabwe, which has backward financial concepts, the investment attributes of Bitcoin are slightly weaker. Even more important is Bitcoin’s role in economic empowerment.
Ovidy has lived in the United States for decades and learned about Bitcoin as an undergraduate. After returning to Zimbabwe, he built a business with Bitcoin at its core. In the picture below, Ovidi (middle) takes a photo with Bitcoin traveler Paco (left):
Ovidy encountered Bitcoin during the bull market in 2017, when the price of Bitcoin was around US$10,000. But he didn’t make any investments, he said, “because I didn’t know anything about it.” After Ovidi gradually learned about BTC, he began to use Bitcoin to import cars in Zimbabwe and conduct peer-to-peer transactions with family members in Kenya and overseas. money transfer. He really likes to import BMW cars and believes that BTC gives him hope for the future.
“I thought you could invest $500 in Bitcoin one day; the next day you’d have $1,000 and it would just keep going up and up.”
During his time living in the United States, he accumulated some experience. But it took him several years to learn to use cryptocurrencies to pay, such as using BitPay to buy clothes on Amazon.
That was until the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and Ovidy was forced to return to Zimbabwe from the United States. Unfortunately:
“When I came back to Zimbabwe, I couldn’t find any job, so I traded foreign exchange.”
The Forex account requires him to deposit some Bitcoins into the account. Ovidy remembered that he had some Bitcoin stored in an old Coinbase account. He checked and found that the BTC he bought for $500 in 2017 and 2018 was now worth over $2,000.
Ovidy immediately realized that he could use Bitcoin for payments and investments. He can do an innovative business. What's more, he can be his own boss. So, he built an electronic wallet transfer center.
Flyer for Ovidi money transfer business. Image source: Facebook
Then he used his network to serve Japan's imported car trade and buy BMW or Toyota. His Zimbabwean customers gave him dollars, he then sent the bitcoins to a Japanese car dealer, and weeks later the cars were shipped to Zimbabwe.
Why do this? He explained:
“It’s impossible for me to send dollars to Japan because the only way is through a bank, which would take quite a long time and involve a lot of risk. If I use BTC, when I need to trade, I can instantly send Bitcoin The coins are sent to Japan and the transaction is confirmed for both parties. Bitcoin is a faster and more secure process."
If done through a bank, the process would take more than two weeks and involve high commissions.
Ovidy takes a small commission on sales and balances the dollars he earns by making reverse remittances using Bitcoin. Due to the scarcity of U.S. dollars in supply in Zimbabwe, Ovidy buys Bitcoin from “local Zimbabweans or expatriates in Kenya, paying with U.S. dollars he earns from car sales.
Two recent cars imported by Ovidy were paid for with Bitcoin. Source:Ovidy
Ovidy said that while Bitcoin adoption is growing in Zimbabwe, it is not all plain sailing. Many people “do not trust Bitcoin,” and there are clear disparities:
“At first, people didn’t appreciate Bitcoin because most investors encountered scams. Even I was scammed out of $500 when I was learning to use Bitcoin!
He mentioned that the trickiest part of Bitcoin adoption is “that it’s invisible to the older generation.” One of his friends, William Chui, built a “Bitcoin House where everyone in the community uses Bitcoin to transact.” To prove to people that with Bitcoin, it is possible to achieve financial freedom.
Bitcoin House, built by William Choi, a friend of Ovid. Source:Ovidy
While education remains a barrier to crypto adoption in Zimbabwe and the country is experiencing hyperinflation, he is hopeful. He said: "We start small and persist in 10 to 15 years. Young people who appreciate Bitcoin will make Zimbabwe a country that adopts Bitcoin."
