Afriramp
Off and Onramping to local currencies in Uganda
Created on 10th May 2025
•
Afriramp
Off and Onramping to local currencies in Uganda
The problem Afriramp solves
Uganda’s population stands at 45+ million of which 75% of these are youth. Though we have a widespread of smart phones, many of these are kept out of the onchain economy due to either lack of access or high hinderances during onRamping and offRamping which perpetually keeps them out of access to this robust economy.
Solution:
AfriRamp integrates with Ramp mobile money services , enabling direct conversions between crypto (USDC/ETH on Base) and local fiat via mobile money at ~1-3% fees. By bypassing traditional intermediaries, it reduces costs for:
Freelancers receiving cross-border payments
Small businesses converting crypto earnings to cash
Youth saving or transacting digitally
Challenges I ran into
Mobile Money Interoperability Fragmentation
Problem: MTN, Airtel, and other providers use incompatible APIs, making unified crypto<>mobile money conversions technically complex ().
Solution:
Built middleware that standardizes API calls across providers, leveraging Ramp’s existing mobile money integrations to reduce development time.
Partnered with Uganda Telecom as a bridge for cross-provider settlements.
- Low Digital Literacy & Crypto Distrust
Problem: 66% of Ugandans distrust digital systems due to scams (), and crypto is seen as volatile or fraudulent.
Solution:
Launched community workshops with local SACCOs (savings groups) to educate youth on USDC’s stability vs. UGX.
Tracks Applied (1)
Stablecoins
Technologies used
Cheer Project
Cheering for a project means supporting a project you like with as little as 0.0025 ETH. Right now, you can Cheer using ETH on Arbitrum, Optimism and Base.