By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Three former housemates of Big Brother Naija Shine Ya Eye season 6, Hazel Oyeze Onou (Whitemoney), Ikechukwu Sunday Okonkwo (Cross) and Pere Egbi (Pere) have been hired as brand ambassadors of Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency exchange.
The former television reality stars were chosen to use their platforms to drive crypto adoption and promote financial freedom for Africans.
Through the year, Binance has continued to build core facets of the blockchain ecosystem and bring new services and financial opportunities to Africans. By working with some of the hottest stars in the country, it intends to further drive its efforts to the mainstream.
“Crypto is the new currency and I am excited to take the Binance message to the streets as one doesn’t have to be rich or that educated to trade crypto”, said Whitemoney.
Cross Ikechukwu Okonkwo said: “I feel elated to be associated with the brand because I have been trading with the Binance app for several years. Working with the brand is an honour and I will ensure that the youths realize the benefits of investing in crypto.”
Pere Egbi who could not conceal his excitement stated: “It is much easier to promote what you are affiliated with – I have been dealing with crypto for many years and so, I will use the passion, experience and knowledge that I already have from Binance to drive this adoption.”
Speaking about the development, the Binance Director for Africa, Emmanuel Babalola said the choice of the trio as brand ambassadors is to take crypto mainstream across the African continent.
“Our goal is to make people understand crypto and ease the process of bringing it into their daily lives. One of the things we have seen is how these influencers and their stories embody the spirit of entrepreneurship, hard work and lifestyle of the everyday Nigerian.
“We have a shared goal of empowering more Africans with the knowledge and resources they need to achieve financial freedom, so it’s a perfect fit and teaming up with them is a big win,” he said.
Several initiatives have been instrumental to Binance in deepening cryptocurrency adoption in Africa, one of which is education. Binance rolled out the Binance Masterclass programmes across the continent to teach Africans the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies, how to identify scams and safeguard their crypto.
Binance is also equipping blockchain developers with the necessary skills to build solutions and further develop the ecosystem. Earlier the year, Binance Africa hosted an eight-week masterclass where 1000 blockchain developers in Africa were trained in key skills.
For this collaboration, the Big Brother Naija stars will help drive mainstream crypto adoption by educating people with little or no knowledge of crypto through Binance masterclasses, social media posts, videos and the general interaction with their audience.
Bundle, Binance’s portfolio company will also be joining in this campaign as the brand strives to make crypto more accessible to everyone. The app was built as a place where crypto newbies and professionals can trade crypto in the easiest way possible.
As a part of this collaboration, Bundle is teaming up with the influencers to highlight the ease in trading crypto, through insightful and educative content for both crypto newbies and professionals.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka