My guest today is Lorraine Marcel, founder of Bitcoin Dada and its technical arm Dada Devs for women across Africa. She’s a financial activist reshaping Africa’s fintech landscape by training women across 12 countries in financial literacy, Bitcoin fundamentals, and technical development. We talk about how mobile money like M-Pesa, limited banking access, and cultural barriers around property shape the economic reality for African women, and why Bitcoin in much of Africa is used first for payments and day-to-day survival rather than long-term savings. We also explore the expanding reach of CBDC and VASP regulation, and why women-led projects such as Tando and Dada Devs are critical for building practical, grassroots Bitcoin economies that actually serve people on the ground.

► If you got value, please like, comment, share, follow and support my work. Thank you!

-- SPONSORS --

→ Get your TREZOR wallet & accessories, with a 5% discount, using my code at checkout (get my discount code from the episode - yep, you’ll have to watch it): https://affil.trezor.io/SHUn

→ Have you tried mining bitcoin? Stack sats directly to your wallet while saving on taxes with Abundant Mines: https://AbundantMines.com/Efrat 

– AFFILIATES –

→ Get 10% off on Augmented NAC, with the code YCXKQDK2 via this link: https://store.augmentednac.com/?via=efrat

(Note, this is not medical advice and you should consult your MD)

→ Watch “New Totalitarian Order” conference with Prof. Mattias Desmet & Efrat - code EFRAT for 10% off: https://efenigson.gumroad.com/l/desmet_efrat

→ Get a second citizenship and a plan B to relocate to another country with Expat Money, leave your details for a follow up: https://expatmoney.com/efrat

→ Join me in any of these upcoming events: https://www.efrat.blog/p/upcoming-events 

-- LINKS –

Lorraine’s Twitter: https://x.com/marcelorraine 

Lorraine’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorrainemarcel/ 

Bitcoin Dada Website: https://btcdada.com/ 

Dada Devs Website: https://dadadevs.com/ 

Efrat's Twitter: https://twitter.com/efenigson

Efrat's Channels: https://linktr.ee/efenigson

Watch/listen on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/yourethevoice

Support Efrat's work: ⁠https://bit.ly/zap_efrat

-- CHAPTERS –

00:00 - Coming Up…

01:50 - Lorraine's Background & Intro

04:33 - Financial Challenges of African Women

07:33 - Discovering Bitcoin & Initial Struggles

09:33 - Building “Bitcoin Dada” For Women

11:40 - Ad Break: Trezor & Abundant Mines

20:45 - Lorraine’s Mission Improves Lives

23:13 - Women’s Teaching Approach

25:46 - Digital Payments & CBDCs in Kenya

28:55 - Ad Break: Expat Money & New Totalitarian Order

31:02 - Bitcoin Adoption & Regulation in Kenya, Surveillance & KYC

33:58 - True Financial Empowerment

34:58 - Women As Bitcoin Developers - Tando’s Case Study

38:48 - Circular Economies in Africa

42:48 - HODLing vs. Using Bitcoin for Payments

47:58 - Recognition in Lorraine’s & Dada’s Impact

51:10 - How to Support Bitcoin Dada & Dada Devs