Tech Visionaries Unite: Insights from ALX and GDG

The ALX and GDG hosted event at Lideta served as a convergence point for influential bitcoin a decentralized digital currency that operates without a central bank or single administrator. It can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries. Bitcoin mining is the process of adding transaction records to Bitcoin’s public ledger of past transactions or blockchain. It is a competitive process where miners compete to solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and earn new Bitcoins. The process requires a lot of computational power and energy, which is why Bitcoin mining is often associated with high energy consumption.

Dagmawi Bedilu and game mindset

Dagmawi Bedilu is a game developer and the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Efuye Gela, a game publishing company in Ethiopia. He believes that to understand a problem, you should start with the client and understand what they want. This approach is especially important in game development, where the user experience is paramount. Dagmawi’s work has been featured in several news articles, and he is a sought-after speaker on topics related to game development, innovation, and community building.

Mirafe Gebriel Marcos

Mirafe Gebriel Marcos is the General Manager of Sand Technologies at ALX. He has a background in economics and worked for 10 years in the field, including at the World Bank where he started his career. He has worked in South Asia and Africa, and after returning to Ethiopia, he met the founder, Fred Swaniker, and joined him to find and expand Alx in Ethiopia. Their mission is to address the small number of tech talent in Ethiopia, which is part of the larger problem of Africa accounting for only 2% of the world’s tech talent. They aim to be the biggest supplier of tech talent to the world by 2030, scaling with quality and low cost. They also want to bring a Silicon Valley standard to the continent.

One of the major problems they face is that people start and stop mid-learning. To address this, they are working on creating a learning environment that is engaging and effective. They are also working on creating a community of learners who can support each other and provide motivation. They believe that by creating a strong community of learners and providing a high-quality learning experience, they can help address the shortage of tech talent in Ethiopia and across Africa.

Kidus Yared - Chapa lead

Kidus Yared is the engineering lead at Chapa, a payment services aggregator. Chapa is a Swahili word for money. They work with a lot of business sectors, mainly e-commerce, online booking, and ride-hailing. One of the major problems they face is awareness. To address this, they are working on creating a strong community of learners and providing a high-quality learning experience. They believe that by creating a strong community of learners and providing a high-quality learning experience, they can help address the shortage of tech talent in Ethiopia and across Africa.

Chapa is the first to partner with Telegram, one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, to enable merchants using Telegram to accept payments from their customers. With over 500 million active users worldwide, Telegram is a trusted platform for communication. Chapa’s integration with Telegram’s bot ecosystem allows merchants to accept payments without requiring customers to leave the app.?Whether through mobile money, bank transfers, or debit/credit cards, Chapa enables users to make payments instantly, enhancing convenience and accessibility?

Ruth EnbaUpinvestinvest

Ruth Enbakom is the founder of Upinvest Consulting Plc, which opened in 2022. They provide legal advice to merchants who want to open their business and help from advisory till getting their business license. They work with legal consulting, HR consulting, and company administration, so they outsource. Ruth is a law graduate and has worked in various companies. They also work with Chapa, a payment services aggregator. One of the major challenges they face is awareness for foreigners when they want to open a business and aren’t aware.

Ruth’s advice for ladies is to use every opportunity.?Nothing is stopping you, and everything is in your head