An interview with Lorraine Marcel on consumer adoption of bitcoin

“Bitcoin Dada is a community with focus to empower the African female through financial education”

Lorraine first heard about bitcoin and decentralized finance in 2018 when organizing an event for a crypto company she got in contact with by a friend.

At the time, a lot of organizations or companies were coming into Africa to launch their products within the field of crypto. There was a lot of hype as well as misinformation and she found herself looking for people to identify with, a mentor or a guiding light. But all she found was a lack of representation of African females in this space.

In 2022 she had decided to focus on bitcoin and study what bitcoin is. She started attending meetings, watching YouTube videos, listening to podcasts and following people on Twitter to see where this path would take her; she founded Bitcoin Dada.

The idea of Bitcoin Dada is having a safe space or a community where African women can come, learn and share their experiences as they go through the bitcoin journey. Online as well as physical workshops. They can be found online as well as physically in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Namibia.

“For you to be a consumer of bitcoin you really don’t need much technical knowledge”

“The only qualification you need is being an African. Bitcoin Dada doesn't have educational barriers. It doesn't matter whether you only went to high school or if you have a master or an MBA degree as long as you have the commitment and the willingness to learn.”

Bitcoin Dada has tailored programs as well as materials they can read and learn on their own. They offer:

1. Tailored course outline to be relatable depending on the females experiences.

2. A space for privacy where whatever is shared and talked about in the space doesn't go outside of Bitcoin Dada.

3. Encourage females to always come back and learn more about bitcoin and see how they can incorporate the technology in their daily lives.

“Limited merchant acceptance and educational gap are the two key challenges for consumer adoption”

Although the number of merchant acceptance is growing, compared to the traditional payment options, we can see that it's still limited. “More merchants need to be introduced into the space and this effort has to come from already existing bitcoiners”, says Lorraine.

“There's a huge educational knowledge gap. There are a lot of people who don't know what bitcoin is. Others who don't know what exactly bitcoin is but they've heard it in the wrong context or misinformation. If we continue to have more initiatives that do education then that would actually see more adoption in this space.”

“Bitcoin is for everyone, you don't have to feel intimidated”

For those interested but hesitant to adopt bitcoin, it is important to understand what you're getting into. “Start small, experiment, educate yourselves, your staff members, the executive team and then start more as you go along.”

“Because I work mostly with women, I would like to say to other females out there - to those who are in the space and those who are not yet into the space;

“Bitcoin is for everyone, you don't have to feel intimidated, it is not a male thing. Bitcoin was created for all so going into this space by educating yourselves and finding your way into it.

“There are a lot of people out there who are looking for females who are participating in the space so you might be someone's inspiration. Like me who was actually looking for someone to hold my hand.”

Watch the full interviewLink to: https://youtu.be/IdkfQGidRmQ or visit our YouTube channelLink to: https://azte.co/youtube for more interviews.