By Yevukai Legacia Huruva
When Strive Masiyiwa declared on Facebook that “digital dollars are here”, he was not announcing the arrival of cryptocurrency in Africa, as that moment passed years ago. Instead, he was informing the world about something more significant, which is the formal entry of large African fintech and telecom players into the stablecoin economy through a partnership between Sasai Fintech and Circle. The reason for the partnership is to expand access to USD Coin across Africa, including Zimbabwe.
Circle is a global financial technology company founded in 2013 and the issuer of USD Coin (USDC). USDC is currently the second most capitalised stablecoin on the market after USDT (Tether). It is backed by verifiable US dollar reserves, which is one of the reasons for its stability. USDC once temporarily lost its one-dollar price in 2023 when lender Silicon Valley Bank, which held less than 10% of Circle’s reserves, collapsed.
The other party, Sasai Fintech, is a business unit under Cassava Technologies which was founded by Strive Masiyiwa. Although its headquarters are in the UK, Cassava has a presence across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the United States of America. Besides Sasai Fintech, Cassava also provides its customers with products and services in 94 countries through other business units such as Cassava AI and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, to name but a few.
The possibility of the re-emergence of cryptocurrency in Zimbabwe, particularly in the form of “digital dollars”, piques the interest of many, mainly because Zimbabwe is a country where everyday financial behaviour is influenced by economic instability. There are many questions that many may want to ask, such as who benefits from the venture, what are the risks associated with the initiative, and how should Zimbabweans interpret the renewed push toward crypto-based financial systems?
At face value, the idea is simple, as it involves providing a digital version of the US dollar that can move quickly and cheaply across borders, but underneath that simplicity may be a quiet revolution in how money itself may function in Zimbabwe.
Though informal, Zimbabwe has long been part of the crypto fever. Even after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) restricted crypto activity in 2018, Zimbabweans continued to use informal channels to access cryptocurrencies. The decision by the RBZ to ban financial institutions from facilitating crypto transactions came at a time when Bitcoin trading had risen locally, driven by currency instability, limited access to foreign exchange, and locals simply looking for better financial alternatives.
Cryptocurrencies operated outside the formal financial system, making them difficult to monitor. This lack of regulation became a challenge for the government because they had no way to protect consumers. Crypto became an avenue for fraud and scams, with many people falling for get-rich-quick schemes. In a fragile economy like Zimbabwe, maintaining control over currency flows was and still is a central priority. Because of this, crypto was seen not as an innovation but as a destabilising force.
The reintroduction of crypto into Zimbabwe’s economic conversation is a reflection of what is happening both globally and locally. Globally, digital currencies have become more institutionalised, with stablecoins coming out as a less volatile alternative to traditional crypto assets. Locally, Zimbabwe continues to struggle with currency instability, limited access to foreign exchange, and a heavy reliance on the US dollar in day-to-day transactions.
Masiyiwa’s announcement does not introduce crypto to Zimbabwe but redefines it with the difference lying in the key players involved. Instead of informal traders and startups, established players who are backed by infrastructure and capital are stepping in. Their involvement signals crypto’s shift from the shadows into the mainstream of Zimbabwe’s financial infrastructure.
Stablecoins like USDC are designed to maintain a fixed value where one token equals one US dollar. For Zimbabwe, this is particularly relevant since the country already operates within a heavily dollarised environment. A digital version of that dollar could reduce reliance on physical cash, enable faster and cheaper payments, and improve cross-border transactions. Choosing USDC rather than something like Bitcoin or Ethereum shows that Sasai Fintech is trying to move away from speculation and price volatility.
Sasai has been around for several years, but its impact in Zimbabwe has been limited. Many potential users remain unclear about its purpose or the value it brings. Masiyiwa’s push into stablecoins may represent an attempt to redefine Sasai’s role from a general fintech platform to a gateway for digital currency usage. If the venture is successful, Sasai could integrate USDC into mobile wallets and serve as a bridge between blockchain systems and everyday users. However, its success or failure will depend on whether ordinary Zimbabweans find it useful or not. The success of financial innovations is not dependent on how well advanced the technology being used is but on whether the venture solves real, everyday problems.
It is an undeniable reality that in the future, all monetary transactions may become digital and mobile, but this picture is undoubtedly complicated where Zimbabwe is concerned. Although USDC offers numerous potential benefits such as stability, efficiency, and access for all, it also raises important questions such as, ‘Will the venture deepen the country’s reliance on the US dollar?’ How will regulators respond? And who controls the underlying financial infrastructure? For digital currencies to function effectively, Zimbabwe will need clear legal or regulatory frameworks, ways to protect consumers, and systems to prevent fraud and misuse. Without these, the risks that led to the initial crypto ban in 2018 may resurface.
Zimbabwe has seen waves of financial innovation before, all of which promised to resolve structural challenges. It is fair to say that they changed the economy in their own way, but none of them fully resolved its underlying instability. People still hope for solutions that would stabilise the economy, and as things stand, they might also welcome these digital dollars.
The real story behind Masiyiwa’s announcement is not that digital dollars are here but that they are being positioned as part of the future financial plumbing of Africa. It is about the normalisation of crypto in Africa, especially in Zimbabwe. By integrating USDC into Sasai’s platform, users in African markets can access a digital version of the US dollar without needing traditional banking infrastructure. Whether that future becomes one of greater access or deeper dependence will depend on how these systems are built, regulated, and adopted. For Zimbabwe, it is important to understand that in the end the introduction of digital currencies is not defined by what is being promised but by what it changes and who benefits when it does.
