Tech startup launches Africa’s first minerals trading platform

Sawa Minerals, a tech-driven company has created and launched a platform that will transform the lives of many African miners. The blockchain backed smart contracts platform has been designed in such a way that it is easy to buy ethically mined minerals from artisans and small scale miners (ASM) across Africa and the developing world in a transparent way.

The name ‘Sawa’ is Swahili for “fine”, “all good” and “no worries”. One of the co-founders Mr Kali Angwa said they settled on the name because it captures the purpose of the platform.

The ultimate goal of Sawa Minerals is to bring transparency, and ensure that artisans and small-scale miners are part of an inclusive value chain that will transform their livelihoods.

It is a sad reality that small-scale miners in Africa and the rest of the developing world make a huge contribution to the global minerals trade yet they remain poor, exposed to hazards and the constant threat of conflicts. Sawa Minerals challenges this status quo.

Speaking during the launch in Nairobi, the CTO and Co-founder of Sawa Minerals, Mr. Kali Angwa, said artisans and small-scale miners in developing countries will now have the opportunity to be part of an inclusive platform that respects and puts their needs first.

Mr. Angwa said Sawa Minerals is committed to inspiring an ecosystem that will shape the future of ethical mining, one that is free of child labour, where the ASM community will work in safe conditions and earn life-changing income.

“Artisanal/small-scale mining is an important supplier to key sectors of the global economy including construction, jewelry and and electronics. For example, if all of the world’s ASM community stopped working today, the world would suffer a shortage of 15% gold, 15% diamond, 30% tin, and 80% coloured stones. They deserve to be treated well. “, said Mr. Angwa.

“Like my fellow small-scale miners here, I am very happy to see the entry of Sawa. This platform will help alleviate the extreme poverty we live in and eliminate exploitation that is everywhere around our community” said Joshua Ochieng, a small-scale gold miner in Migori, West of Kenya.

All licensed artisans and small-scale miners, as well as buyers and traders, can sign up with Sawa Minerals by visiting their website and registering.

Sawa Minerals will also play an active role in guiding the miners to become compliant with their countries’ regulations. This is one of the measures the venture has put in place to ensure that buyers and the ASM community engage in transparent trade that is free of worries, remaining true to the meaning of Sawa in Swahili!

Sawa Minerals affirms that organizing the artisans and small-scale miners in one inclusive platform will bring many advantages not only to buyers and ASM members but governments as well. It will enhance government’s’ ability to improve earnings from the mineral deposits available in their countries and bolster their GDP.