Plume In Emerging Markets

Emerging Markets Are the Next RWA Frontier

Real world assets (RWA) are gaining traction and much of the attention is focused on bringing institutional-grade assets from developed markets onchain. But this is a narrow view that overlooks an area with great potential - emerging markets.

These markets are where real world assets (RWA) can have the most transformative impact, not just for investors, but for billions of people currently excluded from global capital markets. Plume aims to build infrastructure that empowers these underserved communities, ensuring the benefits of tokenization reach those who need it most and drive real-world economic growth at scale.

The conversation around real world assets often centers on bringing institutional-grade assets from developed markets onchain. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds, real estate from major financial hubs - all important pieces of the RWA puzzle. But while we're focused on digitizing assets that already serve the financially privileged, we're missing the bigger opportunity: emerging markets represent the true frontier where RWAs can fundamentally transform economies.

RWAs as Economic Equalizers

Traditional finance has left massive gaps in emerging markets. Interest rates in developing countries are often high due to inflation (Brazil: 39.4%, Argentina: 52.4%, Nigeria: 12.3%, South Africa: 8.8%), making capital access prohibitively expensive for local businesses and individuals. Meanwhile, the average fees of remittance in sub-Saharan Africa is at 8.46%, which is far higher than the 3% target of Sustainable Development Goal 10.

This causes millions of entrepreneurs, farmers, and small businesses to be locked out of global capital markets by geography and legacy financial infrastructure.

Emerging markets don't need another way to trade U.S. bonds. They need fundamental infrastructure that can unlock local value and connect it to global capital. This is where RWA tokenization becomes transformative rather than merely convenient.

RWA can revolutionize numerous sectors, including small-scale agriculture, community-based ecotourism, and artisanal mining, by opening them up to global markets and investors. 

Consider the possibilities: A coffee farmer in Colombia can tokenize future crop yields, accessing working capital from global investors without relying on local banks charging 25% interest. A textile manufacturer in Bangladesh can tokenize trade receivables, improving cash flow without the friction of traditional factoring. Solar installations across Africa can be fractionalized and funded by impact investors worldwide.

One of the most immediate benefits of RWAs in emerging markets is currency stability. They can trade using stronger currencies like the USD or Euro instead of volatile local currencies, thereby leveraging the stability of more robust financial systems. 

Stablecoins provided the proof of concept, but tokenized assets take this further. A property developer in Turkey can raise capital in USDC against tokenized real estate, avoiding the volatility of the Turkish lira. A mining operation in Argentina can sell future production against USD-denominated tokens, hedging against peso devaluation.

Real-World Impact at Scale

By tokenizing assets like land or agricultural produce, local businesses can access global capital markets, improving economic outcomes. The scale of this opportunity is massive when you consider that agriculture employs over 60% of the workforce in many African countries, yet remains largely disconnected from global capital markets.

Plume's partnerships demonstrate this potential in action:

• Datodurian exemplifies how RWA tokenization can transform agricultural economies in emerging markets. In many regions, smallholder farmers face limited access to affordable credit due to high local interest rates and lack of collateral. By tokenizing future crop yields or agricultural produce, Datodurian allows farmers to represent their assets as digital tokens on the blockchain. These tokens can then be sold or used as collateral to access working capital from a global pool of investors, bypassing local financial barriers.
• Harvest Flow demonstrates how tokenization can address the chronic underfunding and inefficiencies in emerging market infrastructure. Tuk tuks are often driver-owned in SEA, yet many in developing economies struggle to secure the investment needed due to opaque financial systems.
• Pesabase stands out as the first money-transfer platform in Africa to reach all areas of South Sudan. Leveraging a revolutionary app and a network of on-ground agents, Pesabase serves the unbanked and those without access to modern technology. Pesabase processes transactions instantly and reduces fees by over 90% compared to traditional services, making remittances affordable and accessible. With more than $10 million in remittances processed in its early stages, Pesabase is not only transforming cross-border payments but also driving financial inclusion and economic empowerment in one of the world’s most underserved regions.
• Pistachio makes DeFi simple, safe, and mobile-first - letting anyone in emerging markets onboard in seconds, earn real yield, and move assets across borders. They are enabling global reach in areas where remittances are vital and dollar-denominated assets make international payments easier, such as Mexico. Pistachio and Plume together put global finance and seamless cross-border payments in the palm of your hand.

As emerging market assets come onchain, they create powerful network effects. A farmer's tokenized crop yield becomes collateral for another entrepreneur's trade finance need. Carbon credits from conservation projects provide yield for DeFi protocols funding renewable energy installations. These interconnected value flows are impossible in traditional finance but natural in programmable money systems.

This composability advantage is particularly pronounced in emerging markets, where financial infrastructure is often fragmented or non-existent. RWA protocols can provide unified access to capital, yield generation, and risk management that would require dozens of intermediaries in traditional finance.

Building for Billions

The RWA market often focuses on the size of addressable assets, the trillions in real estate, bonds, and commodities that could theoretically be tokenized. But emerging markets represent a different kind of scale: billions of people currently excluded from global capital markets.

When farmers, small manufacturers, and local entrepreneurs in emerging markets can access global capital and participate in global value chains through tokenization, the resulting economic growth benefits everyone.

The infrastructure we're building at Plume isn't just about bringing assets onchain – it's about ensuring that when trillions in real-world value gets tokenized, it includes the billions of people who need it most.

The real world is bigger than Wall Street. It's time our assets reflected that.