Latitude59 Kenya Edition is a huge leap towards Latitude59’s vision of building a global village – a community of tech and startup enthusiasts, thought-leaders and activists who are willing to lift each other higher in order to create more opportunities for impactful startups and tech solutions to take over the world. Latitude59 Kenya Edition, our first official satellite event, would not be possible without friends and partners who help us make big things happen! One of our first supporters on this wild ride to East Africa was Aufort – a tech company on a mission to revolutionize the financial landscape of East Africa.
What does Aufort do?
Aufort is connecting Africa with a united currency – gold. Aufort enables to:
- Protect money’s value from inflation with gold. Throughout history, gold has been one of the best ways to store the value of money. Over the past decade, the value of Kenyan Shilling (KES) has seen a staggering 44% depreciation against the US dollar (USD). During the same period the price of gold has appreciated by an impressive 46% against the USD.
- Send and gift gold, fast and without any fees – within Kenya, between African countries, and also between Europe and the Middle East.
You have just recently hired a new head of growth in Africa. What is your goal in this region? And what is the next big challenge?
Aufort is here to redefine the use case of gold in Africa. The ultimate goal for the region is to become an alternative payment method in Kenya and the rest of the East African region. The East African countries’ presidents are all already looking for ways to curb inflation, prevent scarcity of dollars and preserve the wealth within their respective countries.
The good news for these leaders is that Aufort already has the answer and the solution and we are open for collaboration. Also we want to connect Kenya and its Diaspora through gold seamless transactions, making it easy for diasporas to buy gold and send to their loved ones in Kenya and across Africa.
You’ve said that your aim is to ensure that every individual has the tools and knowledge to build a prosperous financial future. Can you elaborate on that idea a bit, keeping the East African region in mind?
Most people we have talked to and engaged with in Kenya are super passionate about creating and building wealth for themselves and we believe that Aufort can help them with right information and highlight the benefit of our platform in enabling them to save, invest and build wealth for their future with gold.
Do you have any practical tips for tech companies that are thinking of expanding to the Kenyan market? Can you share any of your own lessons?
The most important thing is to understand what problem the company is solving and how Kenyans can benefit from it. Various approaches, channels and ecosystems need to be tested to find the right audience. The best lesson is not to assume, but to test and listen to the market. Kenyans are open-minded and ready to use new products/services but at the same time they are cautious – winning their trust takes some time.
What seems to be currently the most exciting thing about East Africa’s startup/tech scene?
Kenya is regarded as a silicon savanna and we have experienced that first hand with super talented young people with a curious mind to learn and adopt new technologies really fast. We see that young population as the most exciting thing in the startup scene in Kenya and East Africa.
Why did you join forces with Latitude59 in Kenya? What is your shared mission?
Latitude59 has had great success in Estonia in bringing together startups, investors, and other bright minds. As Aufort has explored the opportunity in Kenya for a few months and as Latitude59 decided to make their first foreign event in Nairobi, the Aufort team was excited to join the forces to help build the local community and ecosystem.
Michael Lawal, Head of Growth in Africa at Aufort, will also be on the stage on December 6 at Sarit Expo Centre. Can you give a brief teaser into the key insights or topics that he will be covering?
And you also have a workshop coming up at the L59 Kenya Edition – what will it be about and who should attend?
During the workshop we take a closer look at what has happened with Kenyan Shilling (KES) over the last 10 years, explain what gold is and how Kenyans can benefit from it.
Want to know more about financial empowerment, the state of gold in current global economy, and the tech sector in general? Come and meet Bert-Ken Raudberg, Michael Lawal, and the rest of Aufort team at Latitude59 Kenya Edition on December 6, 2023, at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi – the international satellite event by Latitude59, the flagship startup and tech event of the world’s first digital society, Estonia!
ABOUT AUFORT
The African economy is heavily dependent on US dollars and in recent times this has been more of an economic problem for the whole continent. Out of this pain, the Afrexim Bank created a pan-African payment system but the power of dollars on the African economy can not be solved with PAPS. In the last few months Tanzania Central bank has issued a circular asking for gold miners to sell gold to the government in order to increase the buying power of their local currency. There are many more examples, like Zimbabwe. Gold is the only solution to Africa becoming free from the stronghold of US dollars on its economy. This exciting journey towards financial empowerment and becoming part of the next generation of gold-based banking.
At Aufort we have built a solution that helps various African economies to fastrack their journey to economic freedom using gold as a means to help boost economic stability and prevent hyperinflation to their local currencies. We participated at the Kenya Innovation Week to learn more from the communities of builders, users and government agencies on how to support Mr. President agenda of Pan-African Payment System.
Today, Aufort is open for potential collaborations and partnerships, and is also looking for a strategic investor(s) from Africa. In case of interest, please write: africa@aufort.gold.
