Web3 in Africa: Grit, Grants, and Peer Pressure – ETHSafari 2025 🌍✨

Lisk hosted ETHSafari 2025 in Nairobi, where the story of Web3 in Africa was told not through charts or whitepapers, but through lived experience. 🗣️💼 And let me tell you, it was hotter than a Nairobi summer. 🔥

BeInCrypto was there, sipping on chai and soaking in the wisdom. African founders and builders spilled the tea-I mean, their struggles and breakthroughs. But more importantly, they revealed the vision driving them to create products in a place where startups are basically survivalists. 🌱🚀

African Web3 Founders: Grit, Grants, and the Art of Not Losing Your Mind 💸🤯

What emerged was a portrait of grit so thick you could spread it on toast. Entrepreneurs are building businesses on budgets tighter than a pair of skinny jeans after Thanksgiving. And accountability networks? They’re forging those like they’re blacksmiths in a medieval fantasy. 🛠️⚖️

The motivation? Using blockchain not as hype, but as a tool to solve deeply local problems. Like, actually local. Not “oh, let’s make a global app” local. 🏡🔧

Lisk execs Dominic Schwenter and Gideon Greaves pointed to this effect, but BeInCrypto wanted the real deal-up close and personal with the builders themselves. No filters, just facts. And feelings. Lots of feelings. 😢💪

The Funding Tightrope: Because Money Doesn’t Grow on Baobab Trees 🌳💰

For many founders, the hardest challenge isn’t ideas or talent-it’s capital. Local venture funding is scarcer than a polite comment section on Twitter. So, entrepreneurs are juggling grants like they’re circus performers, all while trying to stay customer-focused. 🤹♂️🎪

One founder warned that grants can easily become a distraction. Like, “Oh, look, shiny milestones!” but your customers are still waiting for a product that works. 🌟🙄

“Grants can shift your eyes away from improving the product. You start chasing milestones that please donors but don’t solve customer needs,” they said, probably while sipping a very strong coffee. ☕💡

Instead, incubation programs that blend modest funding with practical training are proving more impactful. Because, you know, actually learning stuff is kind of important. 📚🧠

“We didn’t want just cash thrown at us. We wanted to be trained, pushed, and held accountable. That’s what actually makes a business survive,” another founder shared, probably while high-fiving their mentor. 🙌🏆

This framing highlights a distinctly African dilemma: build for sustainability, not vanity metrics. Because who needs likes when you’ve got real users? 🤳✨

Accountability as a Currency: Peer Pressure, But Make It Productive 🤝💵

Without deep-pocketed VCs, founders are designing their own systems of discipline. One startup leader recalled how a simple peer accountability ritual transformed his cohort. Every Friday, they got on a call and reported progress, even if it was just “I didn’t cry today.” 📞😅

“Every Friday, we got on a call and reported progress, even if it was small. It wasn’t investors chasing us. We were chasing each other,” said Ikenna Orizu, founder and CEO of Jamit, probably while chasing someone with a whiteboard marker. 🏃♂️📝

That structure, peers holding peers accountable, replaced the typical investor pressure seen elsewhere. It created networks of mutual trust, which one participant described as “a currency just as important as capital.” Because trust is the new Bitcoin. 🤝💎

From Scarcity to Ingenuity: When Constraints Meet Creativity 🧩✨

Constraints have forced creativity. One founder recalled facing $600 monthly costs to host podcasts on US platforms. The math did not work for local creators. His solution? Decentralize. Because why pay $20 a month when you can pay cents? 🧮💡

“I realized Africans can’t pay $20 a month to host a podcast. I built something for cents, and suddenly, people who never thought they could publish weekly now could. Once I saw that, I knew we’d never go back,” he said, probably while mic-dropping a penny. 🎤💰

Such stories reveal how Web3 is not an abstract theory but a tool to unlock affordability and accessibility in places where global platforms overlook the market. Because, you know, Africa exists. 🌍🔓

The Incubation Effect: From Coders to Founders 🦸♂️👩💻

Beyond individual wins, structured programs are seeding ecosystems. A founder who entered an early cohort described how transformative the experience was. Before, they thought building a startup was just about coding. But inside the incubator, they had to think about marketing, compliance, and customers. Basically, they grew up. 🌱👨💼

“Before, I thought building a startup was just about coding. But inside the incubator, I had to think about marketing, compliance, and my customers. It forced me to grow into a real founder, not just a developer,” they said, probably while updating their LinkedIn title. 💼✨

Another added:

“If I weren’t in an incubation program, I might have quit. But being surrounded by people just as hungry as me, nobody sleeps until 3 a.m. because we’re all building. That kept me going,” they said, probably while chugging their fifth coffee. ☕💪

The networks formed in these programs often outlast the funding itself, creating support webs across cities and countries. Because who needs a safety net when you’ve got a squad? 🕸️❤️

Compounding Success: Pay It Forward, But Make It Blockchain 🔄💫

A recurring theme was the idea of reinvestment, where founders give back once they succeed, creating a flywheel effect. Because the ecosystem compounds. What you share today multiplies tomorrow. It’s like blockchain, but for kindness. ♻️🌱

“Even if you win small, give back. Because the ecosystem compounds. What you share today multiplies tomorrow,” one participant told BeInCrypto during the panel, probably while handing out virtual high-fives. 🙌✨

This mindset reflects a shift from survival to abundance: every win is not just individual but collective, building an ecosystem brick by brick. Because together, we rise. 🏗️🌅

Why Africa is Not “Catching Up”: Spoiler Alert – They’re Already Ahead 🚀🏁

Perhaps the strongest message was a rejection of the narrative that Africa is lagging. By necessity, African founders are building leaner, sharper, and more customer-focused businesses. They’re not waiting to catch up. In some ways, they’re already ahead. 🏃♀️💨

“We’re not waiting to catch up. In some ways, we’re already ahead,” a panelist articulated, probably while adjusting their crown. 👑✨

With stablecoin-based merchant payments, decentralized content platforms, and accountability-driven incubation programs, Africa is developing a Web3 culture that looks less like Silicon Valley and more like its own. Because Africa doesn’t need to copy anyone. 🌍🎨

A Call to Investors and Policymakers: Stop Parachuting, Start Partnering 🪂🤝

For investors and policymakers, the takeaway is clear: supporting African Web3 is not about parachuting capital, but about strengthening ecosystems where networks, training, and peer accountability matter as much as money. Because relationships > transactions. 💼❤️

ETHSafari’s panels demonstrated that Africa is not just a frontier for Web3. It is a proving ground. And the founders telling their stories showed that the next wave of blockchain innovation may not come with a Silicon Valley accent, but an African one. Because Africa’s got the mic now. 🎤🌍

2025-09-10 16:05