NFTs hold immense promise for Africa. It’s an opportunity to leapfrog established systems, to level the playing field for creators and entrepreneurs, and to change the story about economic opportunity in our country. Envision an artist from Kenya, able to sell their digital artwork to a collector in New York without going through a predatory gallery. Now imagine that same community in rural Zimbabwe leveraging NFTs to crowdfund the development of a critical irrigation project. This is not some aspirational wish — this is a real opportunity. There's a viper in the garden: the unchecked, often irresponsible, promotion of NFTs by influencers.

Is Exploitation The New Innovation?

The current NFT landscape, fueled by FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and amplified by social media influencers, is setting Africa up for potential disaster. We see it happening in real-time: TikTok influencers, often with little understanding of the underlying technology or the economic realities of the continent, are pushing NFTs with the same fervor they promote weight-loss teas. They’re drumming up quite a storm! Through harnessing the “scarcity principle,” they create a sense of rarity and value around NFTs with time-sensitive drops and limited quantities. This algorithmic amplification makes it seem like there is large-scale involvement.

Who benefits? She’s not the pricy single mom in Lagos. She’s not going to gamble her life savings on some shiny new object of a temporary promise of instant wealth. The brilliant young sculptor based in Accra thinks there’s a way to make his work tokenizable. What he doesn’t yet grasp are the gas fees involved or the potential for scams. These influencers are further lining their own pockets with referral commissions. At the same time, developers of frequently dubious projects are just as poised to rug pull and run off with the money.

I’ve heard stories from friends in the creative industry about being pressured to "ape in" – a phrase that makes my skin crawl – without any real understanding of the risks involved. This isn’t innovation, it’s exploitation in blockchain drag.

  • The reality of the situation: Many Africans lack access to the resources needed to navigate the NFT space safely.
  • The result: This makes them vulnerable to scams and financial losses.

Whose Voices Are Truly Being Heard?

The irony is painful. NFTs were meant to revolutionize the space, to democratize access, to many returning the power back to the creators. Rather than fostering inclusivity and participation, a different brand of gatekeeping took its place. Today, gated Discord and Telegram channels restrict access to “alpha” – insider info – to those who can pay. This is a perverse, digital recreation of those old colonial power dynamics. Influencers have become the latest intermediaries, further controlling the flow of critical information and skimming value off the top from those most at risk.

Where are the voices of African developers who are building sustainable NFT projects? Where are the platforms that focus on improving education and empowering our community instead of contributing to hype and speculation? Why do we continue to promote influencers hawking get-rich-quick schemes? Let’s abandon the high priests of doom and support the artists and entrepreneurs who are really breaking bad to make something real.

We have to think hard about the answers to these questions, because if we don’t, we are not actually empowering Africans but just opening up new routes for exploitation.

Guardrails, Not Gatekeepers, Needed Now

The solution isn't to abandon NFTs altogether. The potential is too great. We must demand responsibility. We’re going to need these very same influencers to put education and transparency before profit. We need platforms to implement safeguards to protect vulnerable users. And, most crucially, we need to listen to Africans who are creating ethical and sustainable NFT ecosystems.

We must embrace a new framework rooted in transparency, education, tiered utility, community protections and a rapid response. Developing a creative brief should be a collaborative process that includes a narrative hook, value justification, and risk boundary. Influencer posts preview influencer posts in succession across a set timeline with tiered access based on wallet seniority. Discord moderators should be mandated to respond to FAQs and escalate any red-flag sentiment. Brands can empower influencers to host defensible utility-building livestreams and hold surveys of token holders to receive honest feedback.

  • Influencers: Conduct due diligence. Disclose risks. Educate your audience. Support local African NFT projects. Stop promoting scams.
  • Platforms: Provide educational resources in local languages. Create more affordable NFT platforms. Implement robust fraud detection mechanisms.
  • Creators: Demand transparency. Understand the technology. Protect your rights. Don't be afraid to say no.
  • Communities: Share knowledge. Support each other. Hold influencers accountable.

I'm not saying it will be easy. But if we really want NFTs to empower Africa, then we really don’t have an option. We must reclaim the narrative. We must demand responsibility. We need to create a future where NFTs are a positive force, rather than an avenue for scam artists and bad actors. Don’t let the FOMO blind us to what’s possible.

I'm not saying it will be easy. But if we're serious about empowering Africa through NFTs, we have no other choice. We must reclaim the narrative. We must demand responsibility. We must build a future where NFTs are a force for good, not a tool for exploitation. Let's not let the FOMO eclipse the future.

The time to act is now.