Spurred on by the now flailing Facebook cryptocurrency Libra, China fast-tracked development of its own form of digital money that it initially thought would compete with the social network&#;s but now may have vast portions of the global market to itself, particularly in Africa.

Wall Street Journal reporter Steven Russolillo produced a short 5-minute explainer video on the new Chinese digital currency that everyone in Africa would be well-advised to watch because there is a very good chance this new payment method will become integrated into the continent&#;s mobile ecosystem that is increasingly dominated by Chinese companies.

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Chinese companies like Transsion, StarTimes, and Boomplay all have dominant market shares in their respective sectors in Africa. In some cases, particularly Transsion&#;s mobile phone brands, they&#;re effectively like Apple-style walled gardens where they can control what services and functionalities their tens of millions of users have access to. These companies were never going to allow a Facebook digital currency onto their platforms but given their close ties to the Chinese government, it&#;s totally feasible that they would introduce the new Chinese digital payment system. In fact, their customers may never know they&#;re using this new cryptocurrency when they buy apps, songs or send money to their friends.