September 7th 2023.
In 2021, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and rapper Jay-Z joined forces by creating the endowment fund Btrust. According to Afrotech, the fund's purpose is to invest in the development of Bitcoin in Africa and India. To further emphasize its direction, three out of the four board members are from Nigeria.
Dorsey broke the news on Twitter, saying, “JAY-Z/@S_C_ and I are giving 500 BTC to a new endowment named ₿trust to fund #Bitcoin development, initially focused on teams in Africa & India. It’ll be set up as a blind, irrevocable trust, taking zero direction from us.”
Now, it looks like the fund is starting to make good on its promises. Forbes reports that Btrust has completed the acquisition of Qala, a firm that trains Bitcoin developers and Lightning Network engineers in Africa. As part of the deal, Qala will be rebranded as the Btrust Builders Program. Both organizations can benefit from this collaboration. Btrust is in need of a structure to develop talent, and Qala needs capital, which Btrust can offer.
Femi Longe, CEO of Qala, told Forbes that the biggest challenge they had to face was securing capital. Longe further explained, “The challenge is that generosity and sometimes opportunities in Bitcoin kind of tracks with the price of bitcoin just as hiring does, which is the second challenge we faced. So when there is a bear market, bitcoin companies tighten their buckles.”
Qala was created as a social enterprise and thus does not earn money. To finance its fellows during the intensive portion of its fellowship, it needed the capital that Btrust was able to provide. Longe also told Forbes that the resources they have access to as part of the trust will increase the opportunities of attracting senior talents.
The ₿trust board, which consists of @actuallyCarlaKC, @ihate1999, @obi, & @ojomaochai, welcomed the acquisition of Qala. Ojoma Ochai, one of the board members, said, “We’re incredibly proud to welcome Femi and his excellent team to Btrust. With Qala’s extensive outreach and world-class programs, the organization has made rapid progress in driving open-source development in the Global South through the advancement of education within the region, which is heavily aligned with our core mission at Btrust.”
It is clear that the acquisition of Qala is just the beginning of the Btrust fund's journey. We can expect big things to come from the collaboration between Dorsey, Jay-Z, and the Btrust board.
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