Jack Dorsey’s ₿trust Purchases African Bitcoin Organization Qala
₿trust, a nonprofit entity backed by Twitter's (now known as X) co-founder and Bitcoin proponent, Jack Dorsey, is expanding its initiatives in Africa through a recent acquisition.
The organization has taken under its wing Qala, which is primarily focused on cultivating Bitcoin and Lightning Network engineers in Africa.
This strategic acquisition is set to bolster ₿trust's aim of promoting the growth and education of open-source Bitcoin engineers throughout the Global South.
Following the successful completion of this acquisition on September 1st, Qala will transition its brand identity to become the ₿trust Builders Programme.
Since its inception in 2021, Qala has consistently worked on identifying, training, and matching African software developers with international Bitcoin enterprises, helping them with the most relevant skills for the worldwide Bitcoin landscape.
Qala has successfully established one of the largest digital communities of Bitcoin developers across Africa, including more than 42 countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.
Graduates from the program have found positions at notable companies including the Bitcoin-centric banking platform, Galoy; the Lightning-integrated messaging service, Sphinx Chat; and the peer-to-peer platform, Bitnob. Some have also been awarded open-source grants from both ₿trust and Superlunar.
In accordance with the acquisition details, Qala's CEO, Femi Longe, along with program manager Stephanie Titcombe, will transition to ₿trust, taking on the roles of program leads for the ₿trust Builders.
"We’re incredibly proud to welcome Femi and his excellent team to ₿trust," expressed ₿trust board member Ojoma Ochai. She added that Qala has showcased "rapid progress in driving open-source development in the Global South.”
In February 2021, Dorsey revealed the launch of ₿trust with a valuation of 500 BTC, equivalent to $23.7 million at the time. The nonprofit's initial efforts were directed towards teams in Africa and India.
Notably, beyond Dorsey, the trust received its initial funding from the rapper, Jay-Z. Currently the nonprofit is overseen by a board of directors including Abubakar Nur Khalil, Carla Kirk-Cohen, Obi Nwosu, and Ochai.