(Ecofin Agency) - The partnership is announced in a context marked by low bank loans to the agriculture sector and a Bitcoin craze. It will enable the involved parties to expand their businesses while contributing to the creation of added value in Côte d’Ivoire. 

Yellow Card Financial and AgriSmartChain announced, today, a partnership to facilitate agriculture financing in Côte d’Ivoire leveraging cryptocurrencies. “The partnership is crucial because, as it is the case in most African countries, Côte d’Ivoire’s economy relies heavily on agriculture, and, [AgriSmartChain] provides innovative blockchain-based solutions to improve and advance the sector in Côte d’Ivoire,”  said Sylvio Contayon, Yellow Card’s country manager in Côte d'Ivoire.

The specific details of that partnership have not been presented yet. Nevertheless, in an interview with Moroccan media L’Observateur, Marouane Jebbar, CEO of Côte d’Ivoire Drone & Robotic and founder of  AgriSmartChain, explained that the goal was to put up for sale 200 million Zera Tokens (ZRT), representing 20% of the available tokens, to raise US$8 million. At the time, he said that private token sales had started. 

In that light, Yellow Card Financial, which is an African cryptocurrency exchange platform, is likely to facilitate Zera Token transactions.  AgriSmartChain already claims 6,000 users but, it is yet to give details about its fundraising project. The initiative will surely attract many users given that a growing number of Africans are attracted by Bitcoin and digital assets and the usually low bank financing attracted by agriculture, a vital sector for most African economies. According to data compiled by Ecofin Agency, over the past few years, only 3% of overall bank loans have been granted to the agriculture sector in the WAEMU region.

Regulators usually frown at Bitcoin and similar digital assets but Yellow Card indicates that it has taken measures to prevent money laundering.