Virtual Assets and Service Providers Association

What Virtual Assets and Service Providers Association does

Virtual Assets and Service Providers Association (VASPA) is a Pan-African industry association founded in September 2024 and registered as an Incorporated Trustee with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria (CAC IT: 79069970), headquartered in Abuja FCT. The organization functions as an advocacy and standards-setting body for Africa's virtual asset ecosystem, connecting Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), fintech operators, regulators, and academics across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroun, Tunisia, and South Africa. VASPA's product portfolio comprises tiered membership subscriptions ($30/year Associate to $5,000/year Patronage Corporate), The Meridian monthly policy newsletter, the Project Green-White-Green sovereign regulatory framework (Market Integrity, National Security, Fiscal Sovereignty), the 2026 Builders Accord including the African Virtual Asset Interoperability Standard (AVAIS v1.0), the ZERO CRIME compliance badge, and a hybrid governance structure of three Standing Committees and three Technical Working Groups (Inter-Regional Stablecoin Settlement, RWA Tokenization, Virtual Asset Anti-Crime Oracle).

VASPA's technology stack is policy- and standards-oriented rather than software-platform-oriented — its proprietary outputs are regulatory frameworks (VASA working paper, EFCC policy advisory), interoperability standards (AVAIS v1.0 API and smart contract templates), and governance artifacts (Standing Committees, TWGs), not a hosted product. Its go-to-market is community-led: member acquisition is driven by advocacy at events (Builders Mastermind Lunch, X Spaces), public consultations, and the association's formal enlistment by regulators including the NFIU (National Risk Assessment), CBN (AML/CFT Pilot), SEC (VASA working paper), EFCC (policy advisory), SEC Ghana (VASP sandbox), and Kenya's National Treasury/CBK/CMA (Draft VASP Regulations 2026). The association monetizes exclusively through annual recurring membership fees reviewed quarterly, with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and a small Secretariat team supplemented by a distributed Pan-African leadership council of approximately 17 named individuals spanning Executive Council, Board of Advisers, and Board of Trustees.

Name

Virtual Assets and Service Providers Association

Legal name

Virtual Asset Service Providers Association

Website

https://vaspa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VASPA is a Pan-African industry association founded in 2024 that advocates for virtual asset service providers, engages with regulators across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and beyond, and develops policy frameworks such as Project Green-White-Green and the AVAIS interoperability standard.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Abuja

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: VASPA generates revenue through tiered annual membership subscriptions ranging from $30/year for Associate members to $5,000/year for Patronage Corporate members. The Expert tier is priced at $70/year. These fees fund the association's advocacy, research, policy development, and governance activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

VASPA is a Pan-African industry association that unites virtual asset stakeholders — Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), regulators, and policymakers — through tiered membership programs, policy advocacy, whitepapers, working papers, technical working groups, and regulatory engagement initiatives. Its core deliverables are policy frameworks (e.g., Project Green-White-Green), the 2026 Builders Accord, The Meridian newsletter, and direct advocacy with regulators across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and other African jurisdictions.

Product overview

VASPA (Virtual Asset Service Providers Association) is a Pan-African industry body that functions as an advocacy association rather than a technology product company. Its portfolio consists of membership programs with tiered access (Expert, Professional, Associate, Corporate, Patron, Partner), governance structures (Standing Committees and Technical Working Groups), knowledge products (The Meridian newsletter, whitepapers, working papers), and policy initiatives (Project Green-White-Green regulatory framework, 2026 Builders Accord, ZERO CRAME Badge). These offerings collectively serve VASPs, regulators, and policymakers across Africa to promote trust, innovation, and collaboration in the virtual asset industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Project Green-White-Green: A sovereign-focused regulatory framework designed to securely integrate virtual assets into Nigeria's formal financial ecosystem, built on three pillars: Market Integrity, National Security, and Fiscal Sovereignty.
• 2026 Builders Accord
• The Meridian

Products and services

• VASPA Membership Program Tiered membership program offering individuals, corporations, and institutions access to industry insights, training, networking events, policy advocacy, regulatory alerts, and a personalized membership dashboard. Applications reviewed quarterly.
• Standing Committees Permanent governance organs for long-term advocacy, policy continuity, and institutional memory comprising the Ecosystem Growth & Advocacy Committee, the Policy & Regulatory Affairs Committee, and the Professional Development & Standards Committee.
• Technical Working Groups Agile, task-oriented squads delivering concrete infrastructure milestones across three domains: Inter-Regional Stablecoin Settlement, Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization, and Virtual Asset Anti-Crime (Virtual Asset Anti-Crime Oracle).
• The Meridian Newsletter Premier monthly policy newsletter serving as a policy compass for the African digital asset sector, providing regional pattern mapping tracking regulatory shifts, data-driven depth for compliance officers and institutional builders, and sovereign regulatory forecasting on evolving central bank frameworks. Exclusive to VASPA members.
• Project Green-White-Green Sovereign-focused regulatory framework with a triple-pillar strategy (Market Integrity, National Security, Fiscal Sovereignty) designed to integrate virtual assets into Nigeria's formal financial ecosystem. Includes a Safe Harbor Pilot, Tiered Licensing Model, circuit breaker mechanisms, automated taxation (EFS), and an Observer Node for regulatory monitoring.
• 2026 Builders Accord Continental blueprint for Africa's digital asset leadership establishing five pillars: Strategic Posture, Regulatory Harmonization, Technology & Interoperability (AVAIS), Capital & Talent Development, and Monetary Sovereignty. Aims to develop a Digital Asset Talent Corps of 1,000 trained professionals and will be submitted to the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
• Industry Research & Whitepapers VASPA publishes working papers, whitepapers, and surveys on virtual asset regulation, policy recommendations, and industry analysis including the Unified Virtual Asset Service Act (VASA) proposal presented to the House of Representatives and the EFCC Policy Advisory report.
• Regulatory Advocacy Services Policy advocacy and direct engagement with regulators including CBN, SEC, NFIU, EFCC, and the National Assembly. Includes submissions to government bodies, regulatory consultation responses, National Risk Assessment participation, and stakeholder engagement across African jurisdictions.
• ZERO CRIME Badge Compliance certification badge signaling a VASP's commitment to robust anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards, helping regulatory bodies prioritize enforcement efforts toward non-compliant actors in the virtual asset sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nigeria has $92.1 billion in annual virtual asset transaction volume (July 2024–June 2025), ranking 6th globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• ASC AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ASC Africa is listed as a key stakeholder collaborating with VASPA to drive a transparent, secure, and innovative virtual asset ecosystem in Africa. ASC Africa appears in the 'Our Partnerships' section of VASPA's website alongside CAB and logo-dark, indicating formal collaboration on ecosystem development.
• CAB (CAB-Logo-Xmas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAB is listed alongside ASC Africa in VASPA's 'Our Partnerships' section, collaborating to drive a transparent, secure, and innovative virtual asset ecosystem in Africa. Nature of collaboration appears focused on ecosystem development and advocacy.
• Yellow CardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYellow Card, a VASPA Partner Tier member, has joined the Stable Alliance — a premier global industry consortium established by the OSL Group (HKEX: 863). Yellow Card deploys its local presence across African jurisdictions as a trusted digital financial infrastructure and fiat on/off-ramp engine, integrated with OSL Group's APAC disbursement network, with USDGO as the settlement layer. VASPA showcased this as a landmark milestone in its Partner Tier Ecosystem.
• ConvexitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the first blockchain-based hubs in Nigeria, collaborating with VASPA to drive blockchain innovation and accelerate safe adoption of blockchain-based solutions across Africa. Testimonial on VASPA website endorses the partnership.
• Infusion LawyerssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerA legal firm whose mission to build trust through compliance aligns with VASPA's. Infusion Lawyers collaborates with VASPA on policy development, contributing expertise to the VASA working paper, Project Green-White-Green, and EFCC policy advisory. Several Infusion Lawyers staff hold leadership roles in VASPA (Senator Ihenyen as Founding Trustee, Favour Uche as Star Associate, Gabriel Eze as Assistant Secretary-General).
• A&D ForensicssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlockchain analytics service provider helping government agencies, exchanges, and financial institutions trace and investigate blockchain and cryptocurrency-related crimes. Collaborates with VASPA to improve trust in the virtual assets sector across Africa. Adedeji Owonibi of A&D Forensics serves on VASPA's Board of Advisers.
• Africa Stablecoin ConsortiumsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn African think-tank for sensible stablecoin policies and regulations, collaborating with VASPA as a member to drive a business-friendly climate across Africa. VASPA is a member of the Africa Stablecoin Consortium.
• OSL Group (HKEX: 863)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOSL Group is the founding entity of the Stable Alliance — a premier global industry consortium. OSL anchors the APAC disbursement and clearing infrastructure across major Asia-Pacific financial hubs. VASPA member Yellow Card integrates with OSL's network as part of the Stable Alliance to enable Africa-APAC institutional money movement.
• Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NFIU has officially enlisted VASPA as part of the Virtual Assets Working Group to help steer Nigeria's ongoing National Risk Assessment (NRA). VASPA nominated an expert representative to the working group. This followed NFIU's engagement with SROs in the virtual assets and FinTech sectors in August 2025.
• Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVASPA submitted a comprehensive policy advisory report 'Virtual Assets in Nigeria: Policy Advisory Report and Recommendations for the EFCC' in September 2025, prepared in collaboration with BICCoN. VASPA also served as industry representative at an EFCC stakeholder engagement on preventing the use of virtual assets for financial crimes in Africa (July 2025). Proposed a MoU for shared intelligence and joint capacity building.
• Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBICCoN is Nigeria's inter-community voice of the blockchain industry. VASPA collaborated with BICCoN to prepare the policy advisory report submitted to the EFCC. Both organizations share the goal of constructive regulatory realignment for Nigeria's virtual asset sector.
• SEC GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVASPA formally engaged with SEC Ghana following the launch of Ghana's VASP regulatory sandbox under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154). VASPA submitted commendation and recommendations for optimal implementation, calling for continental collaboration and sharing of sandbox findings across African jurisdictions.
• African Union Commission & AfCFTA SecretariatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 2026 Builders Accord will be submitted for consideration to the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, establishing a coordination approach to digital asset regulation and aiming for a Passport Licensing Regime enabling VASPs to operate seamlessly across African markets.
• National Treasury, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), and Capital Markets Authority (CMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThese three Kenyan regulatory bodies collaboratively drafted the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Regulations, 2026. VASPA issued a regulatory alert calling on members to review and submit feedback on the framework, aggregating perspectives into its official consolidated response to the National Treasury.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Global Digital Finance (GDF): International industry body advancing digital asset and crypto adoption through advocacy and standards. Comparable as a global trade association with similar advocacy, policy engagement, and code-of-conduct functions to VASPA.
• Crypto Council for Innovation: Global alliance of crypto industry leaders focused on constructive engagement with policymakers. Comparable as an industry-led advocacy coalition with similar mission to bridge industry and regulators, though operating at global rather than African scope.
• Blockchain Association: US crypto industry trade association advocating for pro-innovation policy. Comparable as a membership-driven industry body representing virtual asset firms before regulators and providing policy research — a structural analog to VASPA.
• Chamber of Digital Commerce: US-based trade association representing the digital asset and blockchain industry. Comparable as an established industry body that engages regulators, publishes policy positions, and supports member VASPs.

Others

• Yellow Card: Pan-African VASP providing stablecoin on/off-ramps and integrated into the OSL Stable Alliance. Adjacent rather than directly competing: Yellow Card is both a VASPA Partner Tier member and a major virtual asset operator whose regulatory outcomes influence the association's standing.
• Africa Bitcoin Conference (ABC): Pan-African Bitcoin and broader crypto ecosystem convening organization. Comparable as a complementary ecosystem builder that aggregates the same audience through industry events, thought leadership, and community engagement.

Regional players

• European Crypto Initiative (EUCI): European blockchain and crypto industry association focused on EU policy advocacy. Comparable as a regional industry body pursuing harmonized standards and engaging regulators on virtual assets, similar in function to VASPA's Pan-African mission.
• Asia Crypto Alliance: Regional industry alliance for the crypto and blockchain sector in Asia. Comparable as a regional trade body representing digital-asset firms in policy and standards discussions; serves as a structural analog for VASPA's Pan-African ambition.

Direct peers

• Africa Stablecoin Consortium: African think-tank focused on sensible stablecoin policy. Comparable as a Pan-African advocacy body on a specific virtual-asset vertical; VASPA is a member, indicating overlapping membership and policy agenda.
• Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN): Nigeria's inter-community voice of the blockchain industry. Directly comparable as a domestic industry body for virtual assets and a co-author with VASPA of the EFCC policy advisory — overlapping membership and mandate make it the closest direct peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VaspaAfrica
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vaspaafrica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Virtual Assets and Service Providers Association