Is USDC About to Change African Financial Infrastructure?

Circle has announced a collaboration between one of its affiliates and Sasai Fintech, a business of Cassava Technologies, to accelerate USDC adoption and expand internet-native financial infrastructure across Africa.

Issued through Circle’s regulated affiliates, USDC is a fully-reserved, transparent payment stablecoin redeemable 1:1 for US dollars, powering programmable payments and financial applications worldwide.

Stablecoin use in Africa is growing rapidly, driven by mobile-first consumers, cross-border commerce and a rapidly expanding digital economy.

Together, Circle and Sasai Fintech will explore practical applications for USDC and how Circle’s full stack platform can support reducing costs, frictions and settlement time for Sasai’s enterprise and consumer customers.

Connecting to the global system

Sasai Fintech operates across key payment corridors, offering a unified suite of digital financial services that enables business payments, facilitates cross-border transfers for individuals and remittance operators and delivers innovative mobile wallet solutions.

Through integration of USDC and Circle’s onchain infrastructure, these platforms can seamlessly connect users to the global financial system.

“Africa’s digital economy is entering a new era, propelled by entrepreneurship, a mobile-first generation, and the acceleration of intra-regional trade,” notes Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman at Cassava Technologies.

“By integrating with the trusted and widely adopted USDC network, we can drive financial inclusion and open transformative opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.”

By integrating with the USDC network, Strive believes the partnership can drive financial inclusion and open transformative opportunities for businesses and consumers alike. The collaboration aims to address the realities of fragmented infrastructure and cross-border complexity that currently exist within the market.

Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO at Circle says: “Emerging markets are at the forefront of stablecoin adoption, and Africa represents a significant opportunity for internet-native innovation.

“Working with Cassava, we can extend the benefits of USDC and onchain infrastructure into high-growth payment corridors to deliver always-on global connectivity.”

Simplified digital payments

Working with Cassava, Circle intends to extend the benefits of USDC and onchain infrastructure into high-growth payment corridors to deliver always-on global connectivity.

Circle’s platform includes the world’s largest stablecoin network anchored by USDC, the Circle Payments Network for global money movement and Arc – an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the Economic OS for the internet.

Sasai Fintech, a pan-African digital payments solutions provider, delivers simplified and inclusive payment and stablecoin digital dollar solutions.

The company enables businesses to lead their customers into a smarter, digital future by addressing financial inclusion. Through this collaboration, Sasai connects businesses and individuals across borders, simplifying transactions via Circle's programmable blockchain infrastructure.

Circle’s latest commitment to the crypto conversation 

The announcement follows the recent headlines made by Mastercard as it announced its Crypto Partners Program. The programme is aimed at improving collaboration for the crypto community. 

Mastercard stated that the programme will build “meaningful dialogue” for the next phase of on-chain payments. 

Bringing together over 80 crypto partners, participants such as Circle are invited to engage with Mastercard about the “design and direction of future services” as demand for crypto in real-world needs rise.