UEW-ICTE Student Selected as African Onchain Collective Scholar for 2025
The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) recorded a notable international milestone as John Okyere, a Level 300 student in the Department of ICT Education, has been selected as an African Onchain Collective (AOC) Scholar for 2025.
The highly competitive scholarship recognises outstanding African talent in blockchain technology, decentralised systems and digital innovation. As part of this award, John Okyere received a travel grant to attend Devconnect 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This opportunity positions him among a select group of emerging African innovators who are engaging directly with global leaders in the blockchain ecosystem.
Following the award, John represented UEW at the Africa Stablecoin Summit 2025, held from 12th to 13th November in Johannesburg, South Africa, under the theme “Harnessing Stablecoins for Africa’s Economic Resilience.” The summit convened more than 300 high-level participants including regulators, central bankers, fintech founders and representatives from leading global organisations such as Binance, Tether, Visa and Telcoin. Discussions centred on the growing role of stablecoins in strengthening Africa’s financial systems, reducing remittance costs, managing currency volatility and enabling cross-border trade—against the backdrop of over USD 300 billion in annual stablecoin transactions across African markets.
John subsequently attended Devconnect 2025 in Buenos Aires from 17th to 22nd November, a flagship week-long gathering of the global Ethereum community. The event featured intensive hands-on sessions, advanced technical discussions, collaborative co-working hubs and the inaugural Ethereum World’s Fair which showcased real-world blockchain applications across finance, governance, identity and digital infrastructure.
Key insights from the engagements included advances in Ethereum scaling solutions, decentralised applications (dApps) and protocol development; emerging innovations in cryptography and on-chain systems and global trends in Ethereum adoption, particularly in emerging markets such as Latin America and Africa. Participants also examined regulatory and policy frameworks shaping stablecoin adoption and explored practical applications of blockchain technology in fintech, trade facilitation and financial inclusion.
The exposure gained from these international forums provides valuable perspectives on blockchain infrastructure and decentralised technologies, areas that align strongly with UEW’s growing interest in fintech, digital systems and emerging technologies. John Okyere’s achievement reflects both his personal academic drive and the Department of ICT Education’s commitment to nurturing globally competitive digital innovators.
