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Bitcoin Ekasi is an initiative in South Africa that empowers their unbanked community by promoting Bitcoin as a store of value and a means to access financial services. Through education and vendor onboarding, they aim to create a sustainable Bitcoin circular economy in the community.
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. In a country of over 62 million people, most of its people currently face inflation, non access to banks, and decrease in the value of its currency.
Because most South Africans don't have access to a bank, they don't save their money. However, with Bitcoin, they now can, as it is a good store of value and is beneficial when held long-term.
Using Bitcoin, Bitcoin Ekasi has helped many people in South Africa become banked and access the financial system, while also teaching kids and interested individuals about Bitcoin through their physical Bitcoin Ekasi Center.
According to Luthando, the community leader for both Bitcoin Ekasi and The Surfer Kids NPO, “there is currently a high rate of unemployment, crime, and lack of proper educational infrastructure in the country. Most people in the community are unbanked, but Bitcoin has the potential to address some, if not all, of these issues.”
You might not have heard this:
South Africa currently has a high tertiary education dropout rate, with estimates indicating that around 50% of students do not complete their degrees. Various reports from organizations such as OECD, University World News and Business Tech Blog highlight the severity of this problem and its impact on the community.
However, Bitcoin Ekasi, an extension of The Surfer Kids NPO, is a non-profit Bitcoin-only initiative founded by two passionate Bitcoiners that aims to empower the people of South Africa with Bitcoin.
“Most people in South Africa, Mossel Bay to be precise, don't save their money. As their currency faces inflation which reduces its purchasing power, the people are discouraged from saving, so they are forced to spend as they earn. “Back then when I was receiving my salary in Fiat I also wasn't able to save any money.” Luthando said.
Kudos to the Fiat System…
In light of this, Bitcoin Ekasi aims to bring more people to Bitcoin and onboard more vendors to accept it, thereby making Bitcoin more accessible by building a reliable Bitcoin circular economy in Mossel Bay, South Africa.
With a strong mission to empower financial freedom for the people of South Africa and guide them in starting to save in Bitcoin, they launched the Bitcoin Diploma Course Program at the Ekasi Center as a light node of My First Bitcoin. This program is designed to educate and enlighten the community about Bitcoin, the nature of money, and the entire curriculum.
Read more about their story below…
Long before Bitcoin Ekasi, there was The Surfer Kids NPO, and it all started from there. The Surfer Kids is a non-profit organization co-founded by Hermann Vivier and his wife in 2010.
As stated on the Bitcoin Ekasi website, “Bitcoin Ekasi is an extension of The Surfer Kids Non-Profit. The Surfer Kids is a registered non-profit organization founded in 2010. The NPO is 100% donation-based and works to create youth empowerment in an impoverished South African township.
Similar to what Bitcoin Beach did in El Zonte, El Salvador, Bitcoin Ekasi aims to use a well-established community platform (The Surfer Kids NPO) to create a Bitcoin economy in the township already served by that non-profit organization.”
As a non-profit organization, The Surfer Kids NPO primarily depends on donations and began accepting Bitcoin on their donation page when the need arose in early 2020.
At a point, they received 10,000 Rands in Bitcoin donations, prompting Hermann to reward those satoshis to both Luthando and his colleague, as there were only two workers at The Surfer Kids NPO at that time.
In the early days, Luthando was the surf coach for The Surfer Kids NPO, and was the only one working with Hermann after their fellow employee was let go due to a lack of seriousness.
“In the middle of 2021, Hermann asked me what the meaning of the word 'Ekasi' was, and I explained without knowing what was on my boss's mind,” Luthando said.
The following week, Hermann shared his plan with Luthando: to introduce Bitcoin to the community, having dived deeper into the Bitcoin rabbit hole and experienced its potential as both a valuable store of wealth and a tool for empowerment.
During that time, Hermann "orange-pilled" Luthando, sharing his knowledge of Bitcoin and helping him understand its significance. Luthando decided to join Hermann in his quest to onboard local shops and vendors around the country to accept Bitcoin payments.
Their journey took them from the surfboards to the streets, as both passionate Bitcoiners transitioned from coaching kids on how to surf to becoming shop onboarding specialists and local champions for Bitcoin adoption. After coaching kids during the day, they would tirelessly visit local shops in and around the community to spread the gospel of Bitcoin to them.
By early August 2021, they used the Surfer Kids NPO as a trusted community platform to launch Bitcoin Ekasi and hosted Bitcoin meetings and meetups to educate and empower the vendors they had onboarded. The initiative quickly gained momentum, transforming not just the local economy but also the mindset of the community.
In 2022, Hermann made a groundbreaking decision to pay Luthando entirely in Bitcoin for his contributions to both The Surfer Kids NPO, and the newly established Bitcoin Ekasi project but in 2024, The Surfer Kids had expanded to about 17 dedicated employees, all inspired by Hermann vision.
Bitcoin Ekasi pays these coaches’ salaries with Bitcoin, while simultaneously on-boarding township vendors to accept Bitcoin as payment. This allows the coaches to spend their SATs buying groceries in the township, thereby introducing Bitcoin into the township.
Bitcoin Ekasi was established by Hermann Viver, the founder of The Surfer Kids NPO, alongside his former coach, Luthando, who currently serves as the project lead for both Bitcoin Ekasi and The Surfer Kids NPO and has been working with Hermann since 2019, he has continues to be a driving force in this remarkable journey.
As we discussed earlier, both passionate Bitcoiners dedicated their time to onboarding local shops, vendors, and businesses to Bitcoin while hosting meetings to support those new to the experience.
However, it wasn't easy for them as many who were introduced to Bitcoin did not see it for what it truly was; some considered it a scam, while others were open to learning more and felt empowered since accepting Bitcoin.
We’ll explore not just their challenges but their Biggest Challenges as we move forward, so let’s dive in.
As pioneers of the Bitcoin circular economy in Africa and an inspiration for emerging Bitcoin projects, Bitcoin Ekasi has encountered numerous obstacles on its journey to success. Which we will be discussing in this section, and also explore their Wins and challenges below.
Empowering The People with Bitcoin: Luthando shares that since Bitcoin Ekasi was founded, the team has successfully helped local shops start accepting Bitcoin for their goods and services. This has allowed multiple store owners to see Bitcoin as a valuable asset and use it in their daily lives and businesses, even during market ups and downs. For Luthando, this is the project's greatest achievement amongst all wins: seeing people empowered by Bitcoin.
Transforming Lives with Bitcoin: Bitcoin Ekasi has achieved a lot for Bitcoin in their community and in South Africa as a whole. Through their efforts, many lives have been changed by Bitcoin, with a prime example being Bitcoin Ekasi's very own Luthando.
While we were discussing Bitcoin Ekasi's wins, Luthando mentioned, “Bitcoin changed my life. In the past year, I have been able to live my dream life thanks to Bitcoin, and I was also fortunate to travel abroad for the first time. I traveled to Switzerland for the Lugano Bitcoin Forum and attended the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway. I will also be at the Africa Bitcoin Conference in Kenya. Back when I relied on fiat, none of this would have been possible, but with Bitcoin, it is.”
Onboarding Immigrant Stores: Immigrant store owners have often been resistant to accepting Bitcoin. As immigrants, their primary focus has been on earning fiat and sending money back home. This has made onboarding them the Teams’ biggest challenge so far.
Location Barrier: The current center's distance from the town has made it challenging for the team to attract more people from the township to come to the Ekasi center and learn about Bitcoin.
Completing the Bitcoin Ekasi CENTER: As the Bitcoin Ekasi team is aiming to bring more people to Bitcoin. They plan to build a proper infrastructure that will help them onboard more individuals, but they haven’t fully begun due to a lack of funds. However, they are currently fundraising for this purpose. If you're led to support their project you can through their website.
Bitcoin gives power to people's hands, by providing a decentralized alternative to traditional banking.
The current Banking system often leads to financial strain due to fees and charges paid in order to make use of the money you worked for, but with Bitcoin anyone can easily send and receive satoshis with little fees through the lightning network.
The more people who accept Bitcoin, the easier life becomes for everyone, and the Bitcoin Ekasi team aims to make Bitcoin accessible for everyone.
Bitcoin Ekasi also seeks to create job opportunities within the community to demonstrate that Bitcoin is a viable currency. Below are some examples:
Ultimately, the goal is to build a reliable Bitcoin circular economy that encourages more people to accept Bitcoin payments through efforts to educate and teach others about Bitcoin and onboard more vendors within and outside to accept Bitcoin as not just a Medium of Exchange but also as a Store of Value.
To contribute to their efforts, visit their website where you can find detailed information on how to donate and support the team's initiatives.
For updates and engagement, follow Bitcoin Ekasi on X @BitcoinEkasi, where they are most active, and connect with them on Nostr. You can also reach out to
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Thank you for reading.
