The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that barely four weeks into the launch of the first Africa’s digital currency, they are still taking baby steps in its proceedings.
This was disclosed by the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 23, 2021.
He mentioned that the eNaira app currently has above 560,000 downloads and optimistically noted that the app is gaining to a million downloads in the coming weeks.
The CBN governor noted that it was too early to pass a verdict on the digital currency, because it is barely in its fourth week since its launch. Also, he added that it has gained a certain sense of momentum with its downloads revealing that out of the 560,000 downloads, 490,000 are customers while 83,000 are merchants. He noted that the eNaira has several possibilities but it would be wise to take things with caution.
“The eNaira, as a digital currency product, has a wide range of possibilities; there are numerous things that can be done with it. But what we’ve done so far is constrain it and begin the journey gradually, with baby steps,” he said.
He added that as the apex bank proceeds with its baby steps, they are observing how actors in that world are behaving to control some of the associated risks.
“So far, I think it’s a good result. When we see the performance of players in the eNaira market, we will gradually open it up,” Emefiele said, citing that he believes the digital currency would be a game-changer for Nigeria and the world at large.
