Finally, on the last day of the Africa Bitcoin Conference, I've saved the worst CBDC experience in Africa for last: Nigeria.
In the words of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the CBDC experience has not been a "rosy story."
The central bank launched the eNaira in 2021, and it's basically been downhill since then.
Initial adoption was stuck at just 0.5 percent. The central bank lowered the requirements for access and introduced discounts in response, but people still preferred cash over the CBDC.
With adoption still struggling, Central Bank of Nigeria deputy governor Kingsley Obiora said that all the eNaira needs is a βa little push from the government.β
That's when the central bank suddenly announced it was taking cash out of circulation. After lines turned to protests and then riots, the central bank described the eNaira as a "success" after adoption went from 0.5% to 6%. 
Even the IMF admit the CBDC has largely been a failure. In a 2023 study, the IMF found that 98.5 percent of the wallets issued have never been used.
And that's to say nothing of all the complaints on the app stores. 
The eNaira has largely fallen apart at this point. Speaking in Ghana a few weeks ago, one Central Bank of Nigeria official said that Nigerians were not interested in the CBDC, the central bank was not prepared to be a retail bank, and the market was already providing solutions.
I've only just skimmed the surface, so be sure to check out the @HRF CBDC Tracker to learn more about what's happening in Africa, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. 
Initial adoption was stuck at just 0.5 percent. The central bank lowered the requirements for access and introduced discounts in response, but people still preferred cash over the CBDC.
With adoption still struggling, Central Bank of Nigeria deputy governor Kingsley Obiora said that all the eNaira needs is a βa little push from the government.β
That's when the central bank suddenly announced it was taking cash out of circulation. After lines turned to protests and then riots, the central bank described the eNaira as a "success" after adoption went from 0.5% to 6%. Nigeriansβ Rejection of Their CBDC Is a Cautionary Tale for Other Countries
Nigerians are protesting their country's CBDC and demanding renewed access to paper money, despite government incentives to use the digital currency.
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Just look at the state of the negative reviews on the wallet app for Nigeria's CBDC...
CBDC Tracker
A CBDC is a digital national currency. In the case of the United States, a CBDC would be a digital form of the U.S. dollar whereas, in Nigeria, the...
The Banque Centrale de Tunisie had an early start in 2019 when rumors spread that it launched a CBDC, but the central bank quickly denied these claims. It did, however, launch a CBDC pilot in collaboration with the Banque de France in 2021 to test cross-border transactions.
The Bank of Ghana also got its start in 2019. It ran a pilot in 2022 and planned to go live in 2023, but it delayed those plans due to the high inflation experienced at the time. The central bank continues to be active in the space, but the timeline is unclear.
Tomorrow, I'll spotlight the only launched CBDC in Africa. However, if you can't wait... you can find out who it is in the 
The Bank of Namibia began its research in 2020 and eventually received assistance from the IMF on at least three different occasions. However, in 2024, the IMF βdid not find a strong case for issuing a [retail CBDC] at the moment."
The Central Bank of Kenya had a bit of a late start in 2022, but it has repeatedly found that CBDCs are a solution in search of a problem. The central bank said many of Kenya's problems "cannot be solved with CBDCs" and that launching a CBDC is not "a compelling priority."
Curious to learn more? You can find more information in the HRF
CBDC Tracker. And tomorrow, I'll spotlight the pilot projects. 
