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/efenigsonEfrat's Channels: https://linktr.ee/efenigsonWatch/listen on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/yourethevoiceSupport Efrat's work: ⁠https://bit.ly/zap_efrat -- CHAPTERS –00:00 - Coming Up…01:50 - Lorraine's Background & Intro04:33 - Financial Challenges of African Women07:33 - Discovering Bitcoin & Initial Struggles09:33 - Building “Bitcoin Dada” For Women11:40 - Ad Break: Trezor & Abundant Mines20:45 - Lorraine’s Mission Improves Lives23:13 - Women’s Teaching Approach25:46 - Digital Payments & CBDCs in Kenya28:55 - Ad Break: Expat Money & New Totalitarian Order31:02 - Bitcoin Adoption & Regulation in Kenya, Surveillance & KYC33:58 - True Financial Empowerment34:58 - Women As Bitcoin Developers - Tando’s Case Study38:48 - Circular Economies in Africa42:48 - HODLing vs. Using Bitcoin for Payments47:58 - Recognition in Lorraine’s & Dada’s Impact51:10 - How to Support Bitcoin Dada & Dada Devs