Well, the fires of inflation are burning as bond notes/RTGS dollars are being printed on a massive scale. We don’t blame the government. It is in a precarious predicament.

When we did our roadshow in Zimbabwe four weeks ago, the black-market rate for 1 US dollar was 4.6 EcoCash and, currently it stands at 8.75. That’s almost 100% inflation in four weeks.

It’s a tale of two economies as the fuel stations that take Bond Notes/RTGS$/EcoCash lie empty with massive long queues of cars that stretch several blocks. And the fuel stations that only accept US dollars/SA Rand have plenty of fuel with instant service. Herein lies an interesting economic comparison. Economies where money is printed on a massive scale experience shortages, poverty and want. Economies where there is relative stability in the money supply experience abundance, wealth and growth.

It’s why we’re building ZIMBOCASH – a money system where you can verifiably prove that the money will be fixed in supply. It’s a movement and will take time to build for sure. But we are growing.

Is the New Currency really that new?

This week, the government announced that it will be introducing a ‘new currency’ in the next couple of months. The only problem is – the country already has a new currency, RTGS$! There isn’t much new about the proposed new currency. The new RTGS $ are even the same as the old currency, even including the words Bond Notes on the notes.

Usually, in circumstances like this, the name change is a useful way to deflect from the real issue at hand. With the RTGS $, it was that the 1:1 link to the US dollar was being removed so that the currency could be created without restriction.

With this ‘new currency’ that is coming out, our bet is that the government will use this as an opportunity to remove the multi-currency regime – i.e. make it illegal to hold and use USD dollars, South African Rand etc.

They’re trying hard to resurrect the fiat currency and banking system but without sound money, it will be a short term solution. Unfortunately, these things are very typical of how a country slips into hyperinflation.

We highlight that we are not against the government. We’re about creating a country that people actually want to live in and we want to work with the government to do so. This is an alternative that we can, together, really transform Zimbabwe.

LOTS HAPPENING AT ZIMBOCASH
We are hard at work with lots going on.

IT development
We’ve finalised on our core IT development team, and we have appointed an IT development project manager. Our thinking around the exact specifications for a decentralised currency system has progressed a lot.

Two days ago, our servers had some downtime – with the increase in interest in ZIMBOCASH, we had to increase our bandwidth and capacity. We’re up and running again. Thank you for your feedback. We see this not as a problem but as a badge of honour – we have grown to the place where we have to upgrade our servers!

We’ve had roadshows in Cape Town and Johannesburg. We’re planning more roadshows – thank you for those that have invited us to your cities/towns. Our basic rule of thumb is that if you sign up 30 people or more in your region, then we will look into coming to your city to do a roadshow. First, though, we would need you to apply to be an ambassador.

Ambassador Program
Our ambassador program has received over 140 applicants. Please be patient with us as we need to interview each person. The ZIMBOCASH movement is something that is growing from the grassroots.

You can still apply if you fit the criteria though. We are looking for people who are passionate about making a difference in Zimbabwe, who are great communicators and who want to see the ZIMBOCASH network grow. If that is you, we’d love to interview you for the position of an Ambassador. Here is a link for you to apply:

https://www.zimbo.cash/ambassadors/

ZIMBOCASH allocations are halving end June

Remember that at the end of June, the amount of ZIMBOCASH allocated to those who sign up halves from 50 000 to 25 000. The number allocated for referrals also halves to 2 500, and so does the amount allocated when people click your unique link (down to 25 from 50).  

Last quarter when we had this, we had a flurry of sign-ups before the date. Best to sign up your friends and family signed up before the halving takes place – don’t leave it until it’s too late.
 

Dashboard
If you want to see your ZIMBOCASH balance, you can go to your dashboard

https://www.zimbo.cash/dashboard/