Hermann Vivier is the co-founder of The Surfer Kids (est. 2010) and founder of Bitcoin Ekasi (est. 2021). Hermann first became interested in Bitcoin in late 2013 as a result of the banking crisis and subsequent bank bailouts in Cyprus. In May 2015 he and his wife adopted Bitcoin as a form of payment. They operate a South African tourism business, catering for the Eastern European and Russian markets, and the first Russian-Ukrainian conflict meant that Bitcoin was (in certain cases) the only form of payment available to receive money from their clients. Following the global covid lockdowns and the resulting slump in their tourism business they started looking for ways to become more active in the Bitcoin space. Hermann started writing for Bitcoin Magazine in January 2021 and a series of events followed that led to the creation of Bitcoin Ekasi in August 2021. Inspired by Bitcoin Beach, the founding mission of Bitcoin Ekasi is simple:

Transition The Surfer Kids away from using fiat, and towards using Bitcoin donations.
Pay The Surfer Kids Coaches’ salaries in Bitcoin.
On-board local merchants in the township to accept Bitcoin as payment.
Provide the community with relevant Bitcoin education.

Renata Rodrigues is the Head of Marketing and Community of Fedi and has as main mission promote the massive adoption of Bitcoin in the “Global South”. Her academic background combines Marketing, Journalism, and Programming and she has extensive experience as a Growth Hacker in emerging countries. Renata has over 15 years of experience in global markets, where she has worked for multinational companies such as Tyco Security Products, startups, and in the public sector in Brazil. Prior to Fedi, she led a global team in Paxful on the implementation of educational and strategic marketing initiatives for Bitcoin across key markets.

Kgothatso Ngako is a software developer born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa. Working on projects that make Bitcoin more accessible in his community.

Bernard is the CEO of Bitnob, a technology and financial services company for the African continent built on top of Bitcoin. They offer automated Bitcoin savings and purchases, Bitcoin collateralized loans, remittance services, OTC and business applications that make it easier for people in Africa to transition into the Bitcoin economy.