1/2 Nairobi National Park will not be destroyed in one dramatic moment. On the contrary it’s being systematically erased, quietly, bureaucratically. One “small” project at a time. First the Southern Bypass, then the SGR, then the ICD road, and now another chunk of protected park land is being sacrificed, this time allegedly for a relocated animal orphanage and infrastructure linked to the Bomas International Conference Centre (BICC). But when you look closely at the documents, the story stops making sense. Because buried inside the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) are plans for a parking lot designed for 1,300 vehicles. That is not normal wildlife facility parking capacity. That is mall-scale infrastructure. The same EIA states parking provision for only 50 buses and 100 cars in one section, then suddenly expands into a gigantic 1,300-vehicle parking complex elsewhere in the document. The obvious question becomes: who exactly is this parking lot meant to serve, and why should protected national park land be surrendered for it? Friends of Nairobi National Park (FoNNaP), together with JustAct and Kituo Cha Sheria, have now moved to court to challenge the project and expose what they argue are contradictions, procedural violations, and serious environmental risks surrounding the development. The issue is not whether the Nairobi Animal Orphanage deserves better facilities. Of course it does. The issue is why the government insists on building it inside a protected ecosystem when it could literally be built elsewhere in Nairobi or anywhere else in Kenya without destroying wildlife habitat. Once protected land is lost, it is gone forever. The most alarming part is that the project documents themselves are riddled with inconsistencies. One section says the project requires 26 acres of land, another says 64 acres, another declares 76.6 acres, while KWS presentations reportedly referenced 89 acres. Which is it? How can an environmental assessment be considered credible when nobody can consistently explain how much land is actually being taken from the park? Then comes perhaps the most disturbing detail of all: a proposed 10-kilometre perimeter fence. Ten kilometres. That would enclose roughly 1,500 acres of land inside Nairobi National Park. Why does an animal orphanage need a 10km perimeter fence? What exactly is being enclosed? What future developments does this create space for? In a country where land grabbing has become normalized and where public land mysteriously transforms into commercial opportunities overnight, these are not paranoid questions. They are necessary questions. Especially because the same documents explicitly describe integration with the Bomas International Conference Centre through a walkway over Langata Road. KWS insists there is no connection between the massive parking infrastructure and the BICC, but common sense raises unavoidable questions. Why would an animal orphanage require parking infrastructure comparable to major shopping malls in Nairobi? Why has NEMA reportedly refused to release the BICC EIA documents that could clarify these linkages? What are Kenyans not supposed to see? Even more troubling is that the area being developed is classified in the 2020–2030 Nairobi National Park Management Plan as a “low-use zone” where development, including roads, is prohibited because of the ecological sensitivity of the habitat. Yet the EIA reportedly ignores this entirely. People familiar with the park also dispute claims that the area is rarely used by wildlife. Conservationists and regular park visitors say lions, leopards, black rhinos, birds, and numerous other species actively use this ecosystem. Grasslands are not “empty land.” Forests are not the only ecosystems that matter. Open habitat is critical to wildlife movement, biodiversity, water systems, and ecological balance.

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Good news🥳 Notifications are finally coming to the Exion app🎊. We admit it's a feature we should have given you earlier but it's here now, under review. Download the app here or update as soon as it goes live to start getting notified when you send or receive money 👇 play.google.com/store/apps/d…

One of the most innovative solutions in Africa!

🔺 Team1 Africa Founders Spotlight 🔺🌍 @type_jordan , @ronexondimu , and @george__agai are the co-founders of @ExionFinance , a payments infrastructure layer enabling stablecoin spending across Africa. They have been actively building on Avalanche for the past year, focused on bridging on-chain liquidity with real-world usage. What Is Exion Finance? Exion Finance is a multichain P2P payment platform that allows users to spend stablecoins anywhere MPESA is accepted. It removes the need for off-ramping through centralized or decentralized exchanges by directly connecting crypto liquidity to mobile money rails enabling people to send money, pay bills, and transact in everyday life without friction. At its core, Exion is built on a simple belief: People don’t wake up wanting to use crypto they wake up wanting to send money, receive money, and live their lives. Product & Mechanism Exion operates as a peer-to-peer liquidity layer: Users initiate payments in stablecoins Local liquidity providers fulfill transactions in fiat via MPESA Settlement happens on-chain while execution happens instantly in the real world Users can: On-ramp via crypto wallets or directly from MPESA Off-ramp to mobile payments (pay bills, buy goods, send money) Transfer to wallets or phone numbers View balances across multiple networks in one place This model eliminates delays, reduces friction, and enables stablecoins to function as a practical medium of exchange, not just a store of value. Traction & Proof $1M in transaction volume 4,000 active users Daily transaction activity across markets Operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania 1 year of continuous product iteration Winners in multiple hackathons including Impact Plus Ecosystem Contribution The Exion team has been actively involved in the Avalanche ecosystem through: Participation and wins in builder hackathons Supporting real-world adoption through payments infrastructure Enabling stablecoin usage in everyday transactions Builder Narrative The team is building from lived market experience, focusing on real payment friction rather than abstract crypto use cases. Their perspectives reflect how Exion is designed: Jordan (User Reality): “People don’t wake up wanting to use crypto, they wake up wanting to send money and live their lives.” Ronex (Product Philosophy): “Crypto should feel like money in everyday life, not complex infrastructure.” George (UX Execution): “Crypto payments today still feel too technical. We’re building Exion to make stablecoins as easy to use as mobile money.” Closing Exion Finance is building real payment infrastructure for emerging markets, turning stablecoins into usable currency for daily transactions. That is what we want to see and what building on Avalanche in Africa looks like. Learn More To learn more about Exion Finance, check out their platform and community channel: Website: exion.finance/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/exion-f… App: play.google.com/store/apps/d…

🔺 Team1 Africa Founders Spotlight 🔺🌍 @type_jordan , @ronexondimu , and @george__agai are the co-founders of @ExionFinance , a payments infrastructure layer enabling stablecoin spending across Africa. They have been actively building on Avalanche for the past year, focused on bridging on-chain liquidity with real-world usage. What Is Exion Finance? Exion Finance is a multichain P2P payment platform that allows users to spend stablecoins anywhere MPESA is accepted. It removes the need for off-ramping through centralized or decentralized exchanges by directly connecting crypto liquidity to mobile money rails enabling people to send money, pay bills, and transact in everyday life without friction. At its core, Exion is built on a simple belief: People don’t wake up wanting to use crypto they wake up wanting to send money, receive money, and live their lives. Product & Mechanism Exion operates as a peer-to-peer liquidity layer: Users initiate payments in stablecoins Local liquidity providers fulfill transactions in fiat via MPESA Settlement happens on-chain while execution happens instantly in the real world Users can: On-ramp via crypto wallets or directly from MPESA Off-ramp to mobile payments (pay bills, buy goods, send money) Transfer to wallets or phone numbers View balances across multiple networks in one place This model eliminates delays, reduces friction, and enables stablecoins to function as a practical medium of exchange, not just a store of value. Traction & Proof $1M in transaction volume 4,000 active users Daily transaction activity across markets Operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania 1 year of continuous product iteration Winners in multiple hackathons including Impact Plus Ecosystem Contribution The Exion team has been actively involved in the Avalanche ecosystem through: Participation and wins in builder hackathons Supporting real-world adoption through payments infrastructure Enabling stablecoin usage in everyday transactions Builder Narrative The team is building from lived market experience, focusing on real payment friction rather than abstract crypto use cases. Their perspectives reflect how Exion is designed: Jordan (User Reality): “People don’t wake up wanting to use crypto, they wake up wanting to send money and live their lives.” Ronex (Product Philosophy): “Crypto should feel like money in everyday life, not complex infrastructure.” George (UX Execution): “Crypto payments today still feel too technical. We’re building Exion to make stablecoins as easy to use as mobile money.” Closing Exion Finance is building real payment infrastructure for emerging markets, turning stablecoins into usable currency for daily transactions. That is what we want to see and what building on Avalanche in Africa looks like. Learn More To learn more about Exion Finance, check out their platform and community channel: Website: exion.finance/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/exion-f… App: play.google.com/store/apps/d…

We're building the easiest and simplest way to access stablecoins e.g USDT and USDC and actually get to spend them on daily payments to all local channels, similar to how you already spend but cheaper cause it's stablecoins😏 Check out the app here👇 play.google.com/store/apps/d…

🔺 Team1 Africa Founders Spotlight 🔺🌍 @type_jordan , @ronexondimu , and @Georgain8 are the co-founders of @ExionFinance , a payments infrastructure layer enabling stablecoin spending across Africa. They have been actively building on Avalanche for the past year, focused on bridging on-chain liquidity with real-world usage. What Is Exion Finance? Exion Finance is a multichain P2P payment platform that allows users to spend stablecoins anywhere MPESA is accepted. It removes the need for off-ramping through centralized or decentralized exchanges by directly connecting crypto liquidity to mobile money rails enabling people to send money, pay bills, and transact in everyday life without friction. At its core, Exion is built on a simple belief: People don’t wake up wanting to use crypto they wake up wanting to send money, receive money, and live their lives. Product & Mechanism Exion operates as a peer-to-peer liquidity layer: Users initiate payments in stablecoins Local liquidity providers fulfill transactions in fiat via MPESA Settlement happens on-chain while execution happens instantly in the real world Users can: On-ramp via crypto wallets or directly from MPESA Off-ramp to mobile payments (pay bills, buy goods, send money) Transfer to wallets or phone numbers View balances across multiple networks in one place This model eliminates delays, reduces friction, and enables stablecoins to function as a practical medium of exchange, not just a store of value. Traction & Proof $1M in transaction volume 1,700 active users Daily transaction activity across markets Operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania 1 year of continuous product iteration Winners in multiple hackathons including Impact Plus Ecosystem Contribution The Exion team has been actively involved in the Avalanche ecosystem through: Participation and wins in builder hackathons Supporting real-world adoption through payments infrastructure Enabling stablecoin usage in everyday transactions Builder Narrative The team is building from lived market experience, focusing on real payment friction rather than abstract crypto use cases. Their perspectives reflect how Exion is designed: Jordan (User Reality): “People don’t wake up wanting to use crypto, they wake up wanting to send money and live their lives.” Ronex (Product Philosophy): “Crypto should feel like money in everyday life, not complex infrastructure.” George (UX Execution): “Crypto payments today still feel too technical. We’re building Exion to make stablecoins as easy to use as mobile money.” Closing Exion Finance is building real payment infrastructure for emerging markets, turning stablecoins into usable currency for daily transactions. That is what we want to see and what building on Avalanche in Africa looks like. Learn More To learn more about Exion Finance, check out their platform and community channel: Website: exion.finance/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/exion-f… App: play.google.com/store/apps/d…