African women are fundamental to educating others in cryptocurrency and blockchain tech and providing platforms for individuals and communities to benefit from these disruptive technologies.
From a Nigerian lady in finance who started an all-female blockchain group to a Zambian early adopter who advocates for blockchain’s ability to help improve inefficiencies in Africa, these women are embracing the technology and helping others like them to do the same.
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Here are 10 African women who are killing it in the bitcoin and blockchain space.
Nigerian accountant Ojuederie Doris is the founder of Blockchain Ladies Africa, an all-female group with more than 3,000 members that focuses on uniting African women and leading blockchain education. She is a serial entrepreneur and business advisor with experience in entrepreneurship, business development, and strategic marketing, according to Galtalkstech.
Alakanani Itireleng’s nickname is “The Bitcoin Lady”, and that gives a sense of her role as a leading blockchain influencer in Africa. Based in Botswana, Itireleng is a trained teacher and she uses her professional skills to teach people about blockchain tech. She established the Satoshicentre, a blockchain hub in Gaborone where she works with developers to try to increase the understanding of bitcoin and how to utilize blockchain tech in developing solutions to problems faced by Africans, according to LinkedIn.
Zambian Yaliwe Soko is an early adopter of blockchain and crypto, having ventured into the technology as early as 2016. She is the chairwoman of the United Africa Blockchain Association, a South African nonprofit that promotes the comprehensive adoption of blockchain technology across the public and private sectors in Africa. She is also the founder of the Johannesburg-based Essence Crypto Consultants, according to ICOBench. Soko is passionate about financial inclusion and believes in blockchain’s ability to help improve inefficiencies in Africa.
Nigeria’s Olayinka Odeniran is a highly respected financial services risk management expert and attorney who specializes in blockchain, crypto, and emerging technologies. Odeniran is the co-founder of the Black Women Blockchain Council, a platform she uses to increase the number of young girls and Black women involved in blockchain, fintech, and other emerging technologies. She is often seen as a guest speaker at international blockchain conferences.
Since 2017, South African executive Monica Singer has been the country manager for Consensys, an international venture production studio using blockchain technology to build distributed applications on the Ethereum world computer. She is a board member of the Massachusetts-based Accounting Blockchain Coalition.
Kenyan Roselyn Mwangi is the chairperson of the Blockchain Association of Kenya and also heads the Kenyan Women in Blockchain Chapter. She actively works to empower innovative blockchain tech startups in East Africa. Mwangi previously worked for eight years as a U.N. Women program officer before going into business for 10 years as a Safaricom business dealer where she opened and operated several retail and money transfer outlets selling the products and services of Kenya’s most popular mobile operator.
South African Sonya Kuhnel is one of the earliest adopters of blockchain tech on this list. In 2013, she started a bitcoin payment company called Bitcoin Payments which allowed online merchants in South Africa to accept bitcoin as a payment method for goods and services. She went on to co-found Bitcoin Events in 2014, a company that hosts some of South Africa’s most popular cryptocurrency and blockchain events, according to CliffCentral. Turning her attention to education in 2015, Kuhnel established the Bitcoin Academy, now called the Blockchain Academy to educate fellow Africans about cryptocurrency and blockchain applications.
Imen Ayari is the chief blockchain officer and head of the tech hub Talan Innovation Factory in Tunisia, according to LinkedIn. The trained mechanical engineer is a leading blockchain and cryptocurrency expert in the North African region. She has established and managed many tech firms focused on innovation and often organizes hackathons and events where attendees are encouraged to solve problems with tech.
Zambian entrepreneur Michelle Nsunsumuco is considered a thought leader in the blockchain space and she is passionate about educating others on how to leverage digital tools to drive social and economic development. Based in London, Chivunga is the chair of the international and foreign affairs committee for the British Blockchain Association. She is also a member of the Bermuda government’s global fintech advisory board.
South African executive Naomi Snyman is the blockchain lead for the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets. This role sees Snyman interact with the South African-based bank’s customers across 16 African countries. She also heads up the South African Financial Blockchain Consortium, a group that aims to “explore the transformative potential of blockchain technology for the South African financial industry”.
