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₿trust, a nonprofit organization backed by Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter (now X) and a proponent of Bitcoin (BTC), is expanding its initiatives in Africa through a recent acquisition.
The organization has taken over Qala, a group focused on training engineers in Bitcoin and the Lightning Network within Africa. This acquisition is expected to support ₿trust’s goal of fostering the development and education of Bitcoin open-source engineers from the Global South, as stated in a joint announcement.
As part of the deal — finalized on Sept. 1 — Qala will be rebranded as the ₿trust Builders Programme. Established in 2021, Qala has been involved in sourcing, training, and connecting African software developers with international Bitcoin companies, equipping them with essential skills for the global Bitcoin landscape.
The rebranding notice on Qala’s website. Source: Qala
As per the announcement, Qala has developed one of the largest online communities of Bitcoin developers in Africa, covering over 42 nations, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. Alumni from the program have secured positions at companies such as the Bitcoin-native banking platform Galoy, the Lightning-based messaging service Sphinx Chat, and the peer-to-peer platform Bitnob, in addition to receiving open-source grants from ₿trust and Superlunar.
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Under the terms of the acquisition, Qala CEO Femi Longe and program manager Stephanie Titcombe will become program leads at ₿trust Builders.
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“We’re extremely proud to welcome Femi and his outstanding team to ₿trust,” stated ₿trust board member Ojoma Ochai, noting that Qala has achieved “swift progress in promoting open-source development in the Global South.”
Dorsey announced the establishment of ₿trust in February 2021. Valued at 500 BTC, or $23.7 million at the time of the announcement, the nonprofit initially concentrated on teams in Africa and India. In addition to Dorsey, the trust was initially supported by crypto-friendly artist Jay-Z. The organization is currently led by a board of directors that includes Abubakar Nur Khalil, Carla Kirk-Cohen, Obi Nwosu, and Ochai.
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