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JED XOSpotlighting African Builders EP11: David & Gamifying Crypto Education with Play to Learn
David’s Entry into Web3David’s introduction to the crypto space came in an unusual way, through a referral-based Ethereum scheme called “Ethereum Million Money” back in 2017. While short-lived and ultimately structured like a pyramid scheme, the experience planted a seed of curiosity. His real turning point came later, when a friend needed to receive money from abroad. Watching crypto enable a fast, fee-less transfer showed David its real-world potential and pulled him deeper into Web3.The Sp...
JED XOSpotlighting African Builders EP8: A conversation with Yvonne Kagondu, Head of ICP HUB Kenya
In this episode of Spotlighting African Builders, we sat down with Yvonne Kagondu — Head of ICP Hub Kenya to explore her journey in blockchain and how she’s shaping the future of Web3 across the continent. Yvonne is at the helm of one of Africa’s most active Web3 ecosystems. Through ICP Hub Kenya, her mission is to evangelize, educate, incubate, and launch meaningful blockchain projects. To date, the hub has trained over 1,000 developers in Kenya, with additional ICP hubs emerging across Nige...
JED XOThe Missing Link to Blockchain Adoption
The first event I attended this year was in April, a Bitget event in Abuja. It leaned more toward marketing than education, but it was still interesting to see how people responded to the buzz around crypto. A few weeks later, I joined the Avalanche Campus Tour, which had a completely different energy. This one was focused on education and onboarding, especially for newbies. The atmosphere was fresh, exciting, and relatable—you could feel the curiosity in the room as people asked questions, s...
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JED XOSpotlighting African Builders EP11: David & Gamifying Crypto Education with Play to Learn
David’s Entry into Web3David’s introduction to the crypto space came in an unusual way, through a referral-based Ethereum scheme called “Ethereum Million Money” back in 2017. While short-lived and ultimately structured like a pyramid scheme, the experience planted a seed of curiosity. His real turning point came later, when a friend needed to receive money from abroad. Watching crypto enable a fast, fee-less transfer showed David its real-world potential and pulled him deeper into Web3.The Sp...
JED XOSpotlighting African Builders EP8: A conversation with Yvonne Kagondu, Head of ICP HUB Kenya
In this episode of Spotlighting African Builders, we sat down with Yvonne Kagondu — Head of ICP Hub Kenya to explore her journey in blockchain and how she’s shaping the future of Web3 across the continent. Yvonne is at the helm of one of Africa’s most active Web3 ecosystems. Through ICP Hub Kenya, her mission is to evangelize, educate, incubate, and launch meaningful blockchain projects. To date, the hub has trained over 1,000 developers in Kenya, with additional ICP hubs emerging across Nige...
JED XOThe Missing Link to Blockchain Adoption
The first event I attended this year was in April, a Bitget event in Abuja. It leaned more toward marketing than education, but it was still interesting to see how people responded to the buzz around crypto. A few weeks later, I joined the Avalanche Campus Tour, which had a completely different energy. This one was focused on education and onboarding, especially for newbies. The atmosphere was fresh, exciting, and relatable—you could feel the curiosity in the room as people asked questions, s...
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This week’s spotlight was on Kwame Stalwart, an advocate for digital innovation, ecosystem growth manager, and marketer, as well as a well-known figure in the African Web3 community. His story began back in 2017 when a chance encounter at a printing press introduced him to Bitcoin. By January 2018, he had bought his first $10 worth, sparking a curiosity that has since grown into a full-fledged career in the space.
What drew him in wasn’t just the technology, but the promise of decentralization and trust. Kwame highlighted that non-technical contributions are just as vital to the ecosystem as coding or engineering.
For Kwame, value is the foundation. From AYA HQ (an incubator supporting African Web3 projects) to SMC DAO and the Crypto Investors Network Africa, his involvement has always been guided by where he can create meaningful impact.
At AYA HQ, he spoke about their pipeline: from hackathons, to incubation programs and eventually, physical hubs for African builders.
With SMC DAO, Kwame described a community of believers driving value from the digital economy. Its ecosystem includes the Wikicat token (which recently peaked at $260M in market cap) and utilities like Penny Wallet and Penny Remits, alongside educational resources.
The discussion also explored key challenges facing Africa’s Web3 adoption:
Financial literacy: Speakers like Eri Uhuru emphasized that literacy is the gateway for broader participation, both in Africa and globally.
Security: Education around wallet safety and the risks of centralized exchanges was highlighted as critical.
Onboarding & education: The consensus was clear — the ecosystem needs to move beyond gimmicks like airdrops, focusing instead on blockchain’s true utility: ownership, trust, and decentralization.
The conversation broadened to include other community voices:
We Them Media: Maceo shared how the collective is shifting toward a community-driven structure with working groups, all focused on telling authentic African stories and creating value-driven content.
Nouns DAO Africa: Generic introduced the community’s mission to spread a “nounish” culture — doing good without expecting returns. Their efforts include educational courses and local events designed to strengthen Africa’s Web3 fabric.
The space wrapped up with a reminder that building Web3 in Africa requires active participation, collaboration, and storytelling. Listeners were encouraged to join communities like We Them Media and Nouns DAO Africa to contribute their perspectives and skills.
To keep the energy going, a giveaway of Nouns DAO Africa tokens was also announced for participants who shared insights from the conversation.
The Spotlighting African Builders series continues to showcase the brilliance, grit, and creativity of Africa’s Web3 ecosystem. Kwame’s journey reminded us that the future isn’t just being coded, it’s being built by communities who believe in value, collaboration, and a decentralized tomorrow.
You can listen to the full Spotlighting African Builders space recording here.
🔗 Explore the Projects Highlighted
This week’s spotlight was on Kwame Stalwart, an advocate for digital innovation, ecosystem growth manager, and marketer, as well as a well-known figure in the African Web3 community. His story began back in 2017 when a chance encounter at a printing press introduced him to Bitcoin. By January 2018, he had bought his first $10 worth, sparking a curiosity that has since grown into a full-fledged career in the space.
What drew him in wasn’t just the technology, but the promise of decentralization and trust. Kwame highlighted that non-technical contributions are just as vital to the ecosystem as coding or engineering.
For Kwame, value is the foundation. From AYA HQ (an incubator supporting African Web3 projects) to SMC DAO and the Crypto Investors Network Africa, his involvement has always been guided by where he can create meaningful impact.
At AYA HQ, he spoke about their pipeline: from hackathons, to incubation programs and eventually, physical hubs for African builders.
With SMC DAO, Kwame described a community of believers driving value from the digital economy. Its ecosystem includes the Wikicat token (which recently peaked at $260M in market cap) and utilities like Penny Wallet and Penny Remits, alongside educational resources.
The discussion also explored key challenges facing Africa’s Web3 adoption:
Financial literacy: Speakers like Eri Uhuru emphasized that literacy is the gateway for broader participation, both in Africa and globally.
Security: Education around wallet safety and the risks of centralized exchanges was highlighted as critical.
Onboarding & education: The consensus was clear — the ecosystem needs to move beyond gimmicks like airdrops, focusing instead on blockchain’s true utility: ownership, trust, and decentralization.
The conversation broadened to include other community voices:
We Them Media: Maceo shared how the collective is shifting toward a community-driven structure with working groups, all focused on telling authentic African stories and creating value-driven content.
Nouns DAO Africa: Generic introduced the community’s mission to spread a “nounish” culture — doing good without expecting returns. Their efforts include educational courses and local events designed to strengthen Africa’s Web3 fabric.
The space wrapped up with a reminder that building Web3 in Africa requires active participation, collaboration, and storytelling. Listeners were encouraged to join communities like We Them Media and Nouns DAO Africa to contribute their perspectives and skills.
To keep the energy going, a giveaway of Nouns DAO Africa tokens was also announced for participants who shared insights from the conversation.
The Spotlighting African Builders series continues to showcase the brilliance, grit, and creativity of Africa’s Web3 ecosystem. Kwame’s journey reminded us that the future isn’t just being coded, it’s being built by communities who believe in value, collaboration, and a decentralized tomorrow.
You can listen to the full Spotlighting African Builders space recording here.
🔗 Explore the Projects Highlighted
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