Ripple's Managing Director for South Asia and MENA, an acronym for the Middle East and North Africa, Navin Gupta, in an interview with ZAWYA, confirmed the company's optimistic view of the region and plans for further expansion there.
As XRP fuels Ripple technology, the growth of cross-border transfers via RippleNet and the massive use of on-demand liquidity (ODL) by regional financial institutions are expected to lead to increased use and adoption of the cryptocurrency in this part of the world.
The MENA region has already started implementing ODL technology, Gupta said referring to Pyypl, a Ripple partner since last year. In addition, the company's partner networks in the region include major banks like Saudi British Bank and Qatar National Bank. All of these businesses are using Ripple's crypto technologies to facilitate cross-border transactions and are stirring the interest of other organizations that are not yet partners, a spokesperson says.
All boxes ticked
There is also interest in particular states such as the United Arab Emirates in using XRP Ledger, which, if it translates into a relevant development solution for the region, could be rewarded with a grant from Ripple or XRPL Foundation, says Gupta. As a reminder, the UAE has recently announced plans to become a global crypto hub, and Dubai has long been a base for many crypto businesses.
That said, Ripple is planning to expand in the region according to all the rules, apparently wanting to avoid an even bigger multi-million dollar headache, and is already in dialogue with lawmakers and regulators in the Middle East and North Africa.
Valeria Blokhina
Vladislav Sopov
