Elizabeth Rossiello encountered this when she founded Bitpesa, a startup that connects digital currency to local currency, in 2013. The New York native, who's lived in Nairobi for seven years, had been working microfinance in Kenya before starting Bitpesa. There used to be one expat happy hour in Nairobi. Then Westerners heard about bitcoin in Africa.A small gold rush of social enterprise companies flocked to Kenya. Many bitcoin startups disappeared or changed directions shortly after."I think a lot of people got excited by the whole, 'by God it's going to save everything,'" Rossiello said. "You still need a strong business that then delivers that product."The press paid much attention to bitcoin as a way of accessing the $1.5 billion a year remittance flow to Kenya. Within a month of founding her company Rossiello became inundated with reporters asking about how bitcoin was going to transform remittances, the global flow of money from foreign workers back to their home countries."We had an article in Bloomberg in November that went everywhere just as the price went up, saying, 'Bitcoin in Africa for remittances—it's going to kill Western Union!'" Rossiello said. "And that's the first article of the many, many articles that came after that were about bitcoin and remittances, and the press just kinda ran with that.""People want to hear about how bitcoin can help fight poverty. Talking about how some guy is getting rich? The audience in the West is not really interested in that.
Nairobi's Techpreneurfemales!! Elizabeth RossielloJuly 25, 2015
"They are all concerned with 1. protecting existing markets [and] 2. complying with international anti-money-laundering rules that specifically stop them from reaching the unbanked migrants, international traders, etc.," Braendgaard, who is no longer involved with Kipochi, said in an email."I think in the process of covering the story at first, people get excited, and people who have an idea that Africa is a place that needs charitable help get excited," Nyairo said. "It comes down to the general picture that has been drawn of Africa in the West. You might believe that you are helping, even though you are an entrepreneur just like any other."Of course, one may wonder why it matters what narrative or another drives commerce to nations in desperate need of it. These narratives, however, are dangerous when they smudge the messy realities of African countries. The Nigerian-American writer Teju Cole, in an article critiquing America's reaction to the Kony 2012 video, explains how Africa has always been seen as a playground for Western adventurers:"I think it's great that we do have bitcoin, but I think Africa needs to develop its own solutions."
The solution begins, as Cole writes, with humility and respect for the agency of the people affected. Africa presents real opportunities for growth in digital currency, but top-down narratives may not be the best way to find these opportunities. It fact, it's a good way to create a bubble. People on the ground in Africa are busy working to adapt the promise of digital currencies to their own needs, on their own timelines and without outside direction by the ideas of well-meaning Westerners.Allen Juma at Bitsoko is pivoting the company from merchant payments to researching a microtransaction app for the Gates Foundation. Juma has pivoted before, from dogecoins to bitcoin. When he founded Bitsoko two-and-a-half years ago, he was working a part-time job at a cyber cafe. He repaired and maintained computers, but he did not have the internet access he needed for his business.Juma acknowledged Bejo's was not the bar pictured on his company's website. Bitsoko now has a new website with new photos, and Juma said they are experimenting with other blockchain applications in Kenya and elsewhere. "I'm not saying we're perfect," Juma said. He said he hopes to pry open the market for greater bitcoin adoption later on. "I'm hoping to encourage others," Juma said. "It's not the best, survivability.""I love bitcoin to the bone," Juma said. "I do not think bitcoin is going to change everything. I don't think it is enough. I think there is more to improve. I think it's great that we do have bitcoin, but I think Africa needs to develop its own solutions."One song we hear too often is the one in which Africa serves as a backdrop for white fantasies of conquest and heroism. From the colonial project to Out of Africa to The Constant Gardener and Kony 2012, Africa has provided a space onto which white egos can conveniently be projected. It is a liberated space in which the usual rules do not apply: a nobody from America or Europe can go to Africa and become a godlike savior or, at the very least, have his or her emotional needs satisfied. Many have done it under the banner of "making a difference."