Every week in the past, CoinTelegraph printed a “women who kicked ass in crypto” piece during which just one non-American or non-European girl (Maya Parbhoe) was talked about.
As a result of I really feel that what’s taking place with Bitcoin in Africa, Latin America, The Center East and Southeast Asia — areas the place bitcoin is extra usually used as a forex and a cash of final resort — is way extra thrilling than what’s taking place in the US and Europe, I’m right here inform you about some girls within the Bitcoin area from these areas who kicked ass in 2024.
Farida Bemba Nabourema — Nabourema is a long-time activist and human rights defender, initially from Togo. She’s additionally the first organizer for the African Bitcoin Conference, which, for the final three years, has supplied Africans with an unbelievable alternative to current to and community with Bitcoiners from across the globe.
Reyna Chicas — Chicas is a Salvadoran was promoted to Director of Education for Mi Primer Bitcoin this year, and she or he additionally sits on the group’s board of administrators. Her journey in Bitcoin began simply two years in the past when she went to the Adopting Bitcoin conference in El Salvador as an attendee.
Roya Mahboob — Mahboob is certainly one of Afghanistan’s first feminine tech CEOs. She additionally based the Digital Citizen Fund, a non-profit geared toward bettering technological literacy of Afghan ladies. This yr, she’s continued in her efforts to create IT facilities for ladies in excessive faculties throughout Afghanistan and likewise carry her training mannequin to varsities in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal.
Dea Rezkitha — Rezkitha is the Neighborhood Grasp for Southeast Asia for Fedi and co-founder of the Indonesian Bitcoin Neighborhood and the Indonesia Bitcoin Conference. Apart from maintaining along with her duties for Fedi this yr, Rezkitha toured the world talking about her work at occasions just like the Oslo Freedom Forum and Bitcoin 2024.
Lorraine Marcel — Marcel, primarily based in Kenya, is the founding father of Bitcoin Dada, a digital Bitcoin training platform and sisterhood for African ladies. She was additionally awarded the Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2024 award by the African Bitcoiners group.
Kenyan Lorraine Marcel (@marcelorraine) is our Most Impactful African Bitcoiner of 2024!
By way of @btc_dada and @DadaDevs she empowers leaders like @waithiraah, @LindaKariu54810, @noelynesumba and lots of others, making a ripple impact which is altering Africa endlessly.
Extra👇 pic.twitter.com/W84gicWVs1— African Bitcoiners ⚡ (@afribitcoiners) December 11, 2024
Isabella Santos — Santos is a co-founder of the Mexican Bitcoin group BTC Isla, primarily based in Isla Mujeres in addition to a co-founder of the Bitcoin media outlet Get Based (which lately launched a killer documentary entitled “How The Federal Reserve Secretly Enslaved The World”). Past that, she continued to tour the globe this yr because the host of Bitcoin Backstage, bringing you some juicy takes from backstage on the world’s largest Bitcoin conferences.
Noelyne Sumba — Sumba, primarily based in Kenya, oversees “orange-pilling operations” for Machankura, a Bitcoin Lightning pockets that can be utilized on function telephones. Additionally, in 2024, Saifedean Ammous’ traditional The Bitcoin Customary was printed in Swahili and Abdi because of Sumba’s assist in translating the textual content.
Hadiya Masieh — Masieh is predicated in London however was born to Mauritian and Ugandan dad and mom. She’s the founding father of the Groundswell Project, a corporation that works to foster peace and empathy amongst various communities. She gave a chat on the “Oslo Freedom Discussion board” this yr entitled “How Bitcoin Can Fund Counter-Terrorism”, during which she highlighted how she’s taught Somali ladies the right way to use bitcoin for political fundraising to assist assist feminine candidates within the nation.
Janet Maingi — Maingi, primarily based in Kenya, is a co-founder of Gridless Compute, an organization that not solely mined bitcoin in Africa profitably this previous yr but in addition helped bring electrification to rural regions of Africa.
Mary Imasuen — Imasuen, who’s of Nigerian and Filipino descent and primarily based in Nigeria, is the International Advertising Supervisor for Fedi and a self-described “bitcoin-only gamer” who usually speaks in assist of THNDR Games. Whereas Imasuen wasn’t touring the world discussing her work in 2024, you could possibly hear from her as a podcast visitor or on a gaming stream
Honorable mentions: Renata Rodrigues (Head of Advertising and Neighborhood at Fedi, initially from Brazil), Lorena Ortiz (Latin America Neighborhood Grasp at Fedi, primarily based in Mexico), Edith Mpumwire (Ugandan Neighborhood Supervisor for Bitcoin Dada and supporter of Bitcoin Kampala), Sabina Gitau (co-founder of Tando, primarily based in Kenya), Efrat Fenigson (host of the “You’re The Voice” podcast, primarily based in Israel)
And I’m going to provide a fast shout out to some unhealthy ass girls who crushed it this yr from Europe, the U.S. or elsewhere: Caitlin Long, the US-based CEO of Custodia Financial institution began a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve in 2024; Susie Violet Ward, the UK-based Bitcoin journalist and CEO of Bitcoin Coverage UK wrote extensively in regards to the risks of over-regulating the Bitcoin business within the UK and Europe this yr; Umi Miyahara, the Japanese-American Enterprise Growth Lead at Breez, who helped facilitate many new partnerships for Breez in 2024; DJ Valerie B Love, the US-based inventive who launched an exceptional virtual conference this yr; NiftyNei, who launched the Base58 education platform this yr; Gloria Zhao, a Bitcoin core dev who does a wonderful job in distilling how Bitcoin works; Ella Hough, who helped Cornell College launch its first independent Bitcoin-focused study program; Ayelen Osorio, who launched the Human Right’s Foundation’s Financial Freedom Report newsletter); and L0la L33tz (the impartial journalist did an unbelievable work in masking privateness because it pertains to Bitcoin and crypto for her publication The Rage).
I do know there are an innumerable variety of ladies within the Bitcoin area who neither I nor CoinTelegraph acknowledged.
To these ladies, I apologize for not with the ability to fit your needs into this piece, however I thanks on your work and contributions to the Bitcoin area.
This text is a Take. Opinions expressed are completely the writer’s and don’t essentially mirror these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.