2022: A Year Of Grassroots Bitcoin Adoption For Africa is an opinion editorial by the founder of Bitcoin For Fairness (BFF), Anita Posch, who has traveled around the world to learn how the globally unbanked can benefit from sovereign money. The article was originally published on Bitcoin Magazine.
In early 2020, during my first visit in Zimbabwe, my assumption that Bitcoin is needed the most in the Global South was confirmed. I found a nation in distress about money, because of a kleptocratic ruling elite that had been defrauding and stealing from their people by inflating the national currency for decades. Despite this, corruption and military support allowed these leaders to stay at the top for over 40 years.
The need was there, but what about understanding of Bitcoin? I found a few true believers and HODLers from the early days, but I didn’t find a single Bitcoin-only event or community. What existed were cryptocurrency trading groups on WhatsApp and Facebook and a lot of scams. The first questions about Bitcoin always were: “How can I join Bitcoin?” (which is the language that scammers are using to lure in their victims) and “How can I trade it?” (which is the language of short time preference).
In 2021, I had the idea to bring Bitcoin knowledge to the Global South with a focus on fostering communities on the ground and connecting them infrastructure-wise and people-wise with the Bitcoin network. Elizabeth Stark of Lightning Labs encouraged me to apply for a donation at the Human Rights Foundation, which became the first donor supporting “Bitcoin for Fairness.”
Here’s the full article. You can also listen to it as a podcast.
Anita Posch is a Bitcoin advocate, educator, podcaster, and the author of (L)earn Bitcoin – Become Financially Sovereign. BFF is a non-profit initiative raising knowledge and understanding of Bitcoin for people in emerging countries and for disadvantaged people.
