Femi Longe Presentation at Africa Bitcoin Conference 2025


Femi Longe, the Global Bitcoin Development Lead at Human Rights Foundation didn't hold back at his keynote presentation at the Africa Bitcoin Conference 2025. He opened with a heavy hitter from Melinda Gates: "If you don't set your own agenda, somebody else will."


His takeaway for us was even more direct:

If we aren’t the ones defining what our agenda is, we’re just going to end up serving someone else's interests.


He pointed out a frustrating reality:

Western developers often treat Africa like a checklist, building models and then "ticking the box" when they've "conquered" a new African country.


Whereas is yet to see Africans building for each other and then sharing that value with the rest of the world?


The Paradigm Shift

For Femi, the end goal is simple:

Prosperity and Dignity but we only get there through productivity (actually producing value). He challenged us to look at how we use Bitcoin right now versus how we should be using it.


The Old Way:

We earn in fiat, convert it to Bitcoin just to save it, and then when we actually need to buy something, we convert it right back into fiat to spend it.


The New Way:

A complete shift where we earn in Bitcoin, save in Bitcoin, and spend in Bitcoin. No middlemen required.


The Two Big Challenges

Femi challenged all African builders as a way to create a paradigm shift and guide buiders into building what really matter for Africa.


Challenge 1

Function over Ideology:

  • We need to find "1 million ways" for Africans to earn and spend Bitcoin.

Femi’s quote of the day: "We need factories, not churches."

We have to stop treating Bitcoin like a religion to be preached and start treating it like a tool to be used. Make it functional, not ideological.


Challenge 2

Curing "Friction Promax":

  • We live on one continent with 54 countries and 45 different currencies, yet trying to trade across borders is a nightmare he calls "friction promax."

Using Bitcoin as a neutral, permissionless currency is the only way to move value without gatekeepers slowing us down.


Closing Thoughts

Listening through Femi Longe’s talk, it became clear that "agency" is the missing ingredient.


We can’t just wait for the tech to save us; We have to be the ones to step up.


We need to stop building "Bitcoin churches" where we just sit around talking about how great the tech is, and start building functional "Bitcoin factories", engines of real growth that actually put our people to work and increase our collective productivity.


The potential here is massive, but it requires us to have Creative Confidence.


As Femi said, "permissionless" is an understatement. The door isn't just open; the door doesn't even exist. There is absolutely no reason why we can’t be the ones to build this.


Call to Action

Build the Factory, don’t just be a holder; be a builder.


Take a look at your own community or business today. Where is the "friction promax" holding you back?


Stop waiting for a Western model to solve it. Use your creative confidence to build a functional, Bitcoin‑driven solution that solves a real‑world problem