Unchained / by Yassine Loqmane

Sandi Bitenc is the CEO of 3air, a decentralized telecommunication solution that provides broadband connectivity, IP telephony, and TV to the excluded African areas. 3 billion people are not connected to the internet due to the absence or inadequacy of proper infrastructure and affordability issues and 3air aims to solve this issue. 

3air provides a decentralized solution leveraging blockchain that disrupts the mainstream system that so far lacked to provide connectivity to large populations in Africa. Unlike other innovative solutions, 3air was engineered to be cheap to deploy and affordable for the targeted users.

High-speed Internet entails many advantages for populations like easy access to information, education, and the opportunity to be part of a global market. Providing broadband connectivity is therefore considered one of the major breakthroughs for African countries.

Glen Jordan is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur and the founder of Empowa. 
Empowa is a decentralized finance platform that aims to contribute to the wealth creation of the underserved populations of Africa by providing mortgages for the financially excluded by enabling them to own affordable homes that are also environmentally friendly.

Empowa utilizes NFTs to raise capital, provide financial incentives for investors, and ensure rigorous traceability while the construction of houses is handled by trusted and experienced property developers. It started its activities in Mozambique where it had a significant impact on communities and the lives of individuals and it aims to expand into more African countries in the future. 

Oluwaseun David Adepoju is a Nigerian technology thought leader and the head of research at the Africa Blockchain Institute.
The Africa Blockchain Institute is an educational organization and one of the major think tanks specializing in emerging technologies and digital transformation in Africa. It offers education programs on blockchain technology, and scholarships and incubates high potential innovative Web3 startups. 
The Africa Blockchain Institute also conducts research mapping the state of the Web3 ecosystem in Africa.
This research is actualized through the publication of the Africa Blockchain Report, based on quantitative and qualitative data that offers a thorough overview of the state of the adoption of blockchain technology by governments, startups, and populations in African countries. 

John O'Connor is the director of African Operations at IOHK, the blockchain development company behind the Cardano platform.
Cardano is considered a third-generation blockchain that can serve as the underlying infrastructure of Web3: allowing the development of scalable digital solutions and systems leveraging the attributes and advantages of blockchain.
The digital development of Africa is part of the ethos and strategy of the Cardano project.
IOHK has been particularly focusing on the development of the Cardano ecosystem across the African continent through several initiatives, events, and partnerships. It supports entrepreneurs leveraging Cardano and is working with governmental institutions on projects aiming to build solutions on Cardano to major problems faced by African populations: identity documents, access to financing, the fight against counterfeiting...

Greg Chew is the founder of QPQ, a Web3 infrastructure that allows the creation, custody, and exchange of digital assets and tokens.
Greg has spent a part of his professional career in Africa and experienced firsthand the limitations of the economic systems that undermine the development of African countries. 
QPQ aims to serve as the base for the internet of economics, an internet that facilitates an inclusive economy, encourages competition, and enhances true capitalism. 
It offers several products that can be used as building blocks to create better digital systems by leveraging major blockchain protocols, making them interoperable while staying fully decentralized.  

Omar Benaicha is the leader of the African branch of a major player offering audit and certification services for companies. 
He is Moroccan and spent significant time visiting African countries as part of his professional activities. He holds an engineering degree, a Ph.D., and an MBA and has been conducting academic research on sustainable development in the context of African countries. 
He has been researching the use of blockchain technology to facilitate trust between different entities and as an enabler for sustainable development. Omar Benaicha has also mentored startups in Africa with disruptive business models leveraging emerging technologies like blockchain.

Linda Obi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and the founder of TechonomyAfrica, one of the major platforms in Africa offering free and accessible education on blockchain and other emerging technologies. 
In this episode, Linda will present the mission and role of TehonomyAfrica within the African Web3 ecosystem, its accomplishements so far,  and why it has chosen the DAO and Learn To Earn models for its governance. Linda will also talk about how TechonomyAfrica has contributed to adapting the blockchain education content to local African cultures and empowered more women to enter the Web3 scene.
Through this episode, you will gain valuable insights into the adoption of blockchain technology and its verticals in Africa, and how you could best educate yourself on Web3 technologies! 

Olubunmi Fabanwo is a Nigerian who advocates for the adoption of Decentralised Finance (DeFi) as a way to offer financial services to populations that were so far excluded by the traditional banking system. 
After some years spent in the banking industry, Olubunmi has joined Binance Africa as an affiliate program manager. Olubunmi is a firm believer in the potential of blockchain technology and its multiple use cases in finance.
This episode discusses the definition of DeFi and how it relates to blockchain, the current adoption of cryptocurrencies in the African continent, how it could evolve in the future, and what role could the banks play in such disruption. 

Eric Osuorah is the founder of AFOMA, an ecosystem comprised of three main projects built on blockchain infrastructure aiming to empower artisans and artists in Africa and around the world: Sellitic, a decentralized artisanal marketplace, Oruvan, an NFT marketplace for traditional arts, and Afomaland, a metaverse dedicated to artisans and artists.

This episode discusses the solutions each one of these projects aims to bring to the developing world and how they are enabled by blockchain technology and its attributes.

Eric also shares his experience with Azoneta, a charity in Africa he has launched and that was one of the inspirations behind the AFOMA ecosystem.  

He then shares his views on blockchain and its potential in the developing world, his vision for the future of Africa, and some advice for entrepreneurs and aspiring ones!