• South Africa’s DigitalFlyer came up with a concept of a membership-based platform that would enable businesses of any size to create a digital footprint
• DigitalFlyer launched the Community Business Token crypto in May 2021
• The heroes of cryptocurrency and web3 will likely be community-based tokens

Many businesses are happening online these days. In Africa, there are many hassles with getting online and doing it right. A South African company, DigitalFlyer came up with a concept of a membership-based platform that would enable businesses of any size to create a digital footprint. The platform consists of a website, online store, event management and online bookings avenues, all for a one-off annual fee. This company then pushed to drive businesses into the web3 world by launching their Community Business Token (CBT) and giving businesses access to cryptocurrency-based payments.

DigitalFlyer

DigitalFlyer is a digital marketplace that brings businesses together and helps them create an online presence. The use case is for businesses that want to get online but are confronted by the multiplicity of factors involved in doing this and associated costs.

For many, the journey involves creating a website and then realising that it’s not enough. You will need to drive traffic to the website through Search Engine Optimization, Content Marketing, Paid Advertising, Social Media and everything else out there. Getting all these things done boils down to paying more to be online.

So DigitalFlyer’s solution is to provide a one-stop shop. For a single annual or monthly payment, a business owner can create a website which includes eCommerce functionality or get help building it. This takes away the need for technical skills or understanding every little detail of being online.

The marketplace also has customer memberships and brings audiences to the online storefronts created by business owners. It, in effect, brings together both sides of the puzzle of selling online. Users can then transact with businesses on the platform or the Android or iOS apps.

Community Business Token Crypto

DigitalFlyer launched the Community Business Token in May 2021. This is their in-house cryptocurrency that can be used for crypto transactions within the platform and rewards programs based on blockchain smart contracts.

The Community Business Token has two main goals. Firstly, to bring the DigitalFlyer into the new digital frontier of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Secondly, the token will help educate businesses and users on adopting web3 technologies like cryptocurrency.

CBT provides users of the DigitalFlyer platform with integrated solutions for accepting and making crypto payments for goods and services. Customers can pay for goods within the DigitalFlyer ecosystem using CBT. The innovation prepares the marketplace and its users for the new wave of web3 transacting.

Thanks to the CBT, businesses can create their own customer loyalty rewards programs within the DigitalFlyer marketplace. The use of blockchain will also allow a personalised shopping experience for users, including the ability to keep favourites, look up transaction history, a planning calendar and participate in the rewards program.

The CBT White paper details the rewards program, which is largely based on user referrals in an attempt to improve the adoption of the CBT project.

South Africa Crypto regulation a boost to CBT

South Africa recently moved to regulate cryptocurrency as digital assets, which will boost DigitalFlyer and CBT. Retail giant PicknPay expanded their test program for crypto payments to the general public by announcing 39 stores that now accept crypto payments.

South Africa is now primed for the adoption of cryptocurrency, and forerunners like DigitalFlyer’s CBT will have a significant advantage. From a business owner’s point of view, development comes with many new challenges. This depends on where the business owners stand in their understanding of cryptocurrency. Some are still grappling to understand eCommerce in the web2 world. Community Business Tokens can create the bridge to understanding cryptocurrency and aid in its adoption by businesses.

The recent crypto winter can be likened to the .com bubble crash of the early 2000s. In the early stages, everyone got behind the internet-based technology and expected much of it. However, the state of the internet and other human factors intervened to cause a confidence crash.

Like a phoenix from the flames, new players emerged to take the internet to its next iteration. Instant messaging, mobile technology, voice over IP, video calling and many other use cases of the internet came to the fore to create the ubiquitous network we know today.

Community first Cryptos

The heroes of cryptocurrency and web3 will likely be community-based tokens. Tokens and cryptocurrencies that serve a specific and identifiable community. We have seen examples of such tokens emerging through examples such as the Bit Torrent Token (BTT), Humanity Nodes Token (HMNTY) and more. The CBT fits right in there, serving a specific and identifiable community.