eBusiness Weekly
By Jeffrey Gogo
A new cryptocurrency called the VicFalls Coin (VFC), the first such digital asset centred on Zimbabwe, is trying to woo tourists into the country and to promote tourism in general, by leveraging on the beauty of The Victoria Falls.
This is uncharted territory, but VFC founder Prosper Mwedzi, a 33-year-old Zimbabwean lawyer and software engineer based in England, feels confident that the coin was the right thing to do for the country’s tourism industry, battered by years of isolation and negative publicity.
“The VFC token aims to get Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls on the blockchain by advertising one of the Seven Wonders of the World and bringing tourism from across the world,” Mwedzi told the Business Weekly in an interview on April 24.
Built on the Waves protocol — an open-source platform that supports blockchain start-ups — Mwedzi has set a hard cap of 500 million VicFalls Coins — meaning that’s all the VFC that can ever be issued — and promised to destroy tokens that remain undistributed after the issue closes at the end of June 2018.
The offer, which opened on March 23, is sponsored by Rainbow Ink Ltd, a technology start-up registered in Zimbabwe, which Mwedzi co-founded in 2012.
Mwedzi, who is working with a team of five people from diverse backgrounds in IT, law and communications, is allocating 500 free tokens each to the first 1 000 investors, on compatible Waves wallets, until a soft cap of 500 000 VFC — the basic minimum before coins are distributed to everyone else — is reached at the end of May 2018.
The soft-cap is a key support level needed to get the concept moving forward. Without it, the VFC plan could easily collapse. Or would it?
“No, it wouldn’t collapse,” Mwedzi emphasised.
“If there was money being generated then it could collapse. But because it is a free coin offering there won’t be any repercussions,” he argued, adding that “our main aim is to have adoption at that level (500 000 VFC).”
“It is about our bargaining power; we will be able to negotiate with companies if we have a large following as this generates business leads for companies,” he said.
When the issue closes at the end of the second quarter of 2018, Mwedzi, a former British policeman, expects to have distributed all tokens, ten percent to advisors and business partners, 60 percent to investors and 30 percent to creators of VFC. Harare lawyer and politician Jonathan Samkange is an advisor.
How does it work?
According to the VicFalls Coin whitepaper authored by Mwedzi, the cost of the new currency will be zero at first, but after listing on local digital currency exchanges like Golix or Waves’ DEX internationally, the cost will be market determined.
Investors will hold the coins in digital wallets, hoping that their value will rise as tourism in the Victoria Falls, and elsewhere in Zimbabwe, flourishes. The listing is expected to take place early July.
“The idea is to start with a token with no value and add value by persuading local businesses and service providers to offer discounts to token holders,” Mwedzi, an IT graduate from the University of Zimbabwe and holder of a law degree from the University of Lancashire in England, says in the Whitepaper.
“In this way, the token gains value rather than coming pre-loaded. The project will function as a way of advertising local businesses and Zimbabwe as a tourist destination on the international platform.”
He continues: “Partner companies who offer discounts to VCF holders will be able to cash in the token on a digital asset exchange using the exchange rate at the time. A lot of value is circulating in the digital assets sector…and as traders in tokens acquire wealth, they are seeking places to visit and enjoy their newly found fortunes.
“Having businesses which accept digital tokens in Victoria Falls will make it a friendly destination for blockchain enthusiasts and also for the local community, which certainly ends up benefiting from a booming economy. This will bring foreign currency into the country and help revive the economy and develop local infrastructure.”
Tourism is one of the sectors of Zimbabwe’s economy hardest hit by the all-too-familiar fallout with the West in recent decades.
But the sector is now starting to make a comeback. The number of people visiting Zimbabwe rose for the fifth successive year in 2017, climbing six percent to nearly 2,3 million.
Arrivals had fallen to 1,8 million in 2012, the lowest since dollarisation. This year, tourist arrivals are seen rising to 2,5 million, a record-matching feat.
The increase will be helped by improved international relations, aggressive marketing, visa policy relaxation and airports expansion among other issues.
Overall, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa expects the tourism industry to grow 7,8 percent in 2018. Earnings will likely cross $900 million for the first time in years.
Most of the visitors come to see the Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe’s flagship attraction, and Mwedzi believes that “aaving a (cryptocurrency) token bearing this name is befitting.”
Look out for our anaylsis of the VicFalls Coin next week.
