Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Exchange FTX to Launch in West Africa

, a cryptocurrency exchange that’s been valued at $32 billion, will begin rolling out its platform in Africa in the next few weeks.

The platform will be launched first in West Africa, Elizabeth Rossiello, the founder of AZA Finance, a Kenyan company that started in 2013 and is partnering FTX on the continent, said in an interview on Tuesday. She declined to be more specific. 

FTX currently only has “piecemeal competitors” in Africa and plans to offer its products to a continent with a rapidly growing population and some of the world’s fastest expanding economies, Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive officer of FTX, said in the same interview. 

The companies seek to capitalize on Africa’s population which is expected to double by 2050, as well as the already rapid adoption of digital technologies by Africans who often have little access to traditional banking services. 

The platform will be rolled out in three African countries in coming months and within two years the two companies hope to operate in all major and secondary markets on the continent, Rossiello said. 

— With assistance by Arijit Ghosh, and David Malingha