How can I set up a Ripple gateway for African/Asian currencies, and what would it cost?

To become a Ripple gateway, you must be in the business of moving money in and out of the Ripple network.

A gateway is not so much a particular business model as a specific role in the Ripple ecosystem.

Many different types of business act as Ripple gateways. (Banks, payment processors, money transfer services, remittance companies, etc.) Each bring their own specific user base, use cases and customer value proposition.

Source: Ripple for Gateways

If you are licensed in your geographic region to move money into and out, you can become a Ripple gateway.

Ripple for Gateways explains the concept of a Ripple gateway very well. The basics of any Ripple gateway is as such:


Source: Gateways | Ripple

You can build your own gateway using the developer tools that Ripple has provided: gatewayd | Ripple and once you are up and running you can write to Ripple to include it in their list, subject to Ripple's approval: Gateway Information

The costs would be determined by your ability to provide liquidity and the cost of integration. Besides this, there may be ancillary costs associated at your end, in terms of licensing, business licenses, registration fees, insurance, etc.

The gateway itself is free to build. You just need money to integrate both on to Ripple and to your offline system, as well as the liquidity you will provide.

Welly Sculley from Ripple can perhaps best add on to this.