On May 22nd, a diverse group of francophone Bitcoiners arrived in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic – a landlocked country in the heart of the African continent.

The purpose of the trip was “to listen and to try to bring some solutions to the country to help them, so that it is not an obvious failure but a success for the population”.

CAR is one of the poorest countries in the world, heavily dependent on foreign aid, ranked 188th on the Human Development Index, second to last, only ahead of Niger. Only 15% of the population have access to electricity, and a meager 11% to internet, both mostly in the capital Bangui. How is the population supposed to use digital money when they barely have electricity?

Orange pills were distributed. Sats were sent over Lightning. Minds were blown.

On Thursday, the delegation held a presentation and workshop for local merchants. All participants downloaded Bitcoin wallets and received $10 worth of sats each. According to Noor, the experience of instantly sending and receiving sats caused a lot of satisfaction and enthusiasm, quickly developing a dynamic of its own with merchants having fun sending money back and forth.

In front of an audience of 400 listeners, Galoy’s own Nicolas Burtey held a presentation that emphasized the uniqueness of Bitcoin and how it is critically distinct from other cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, he outlined the benefits of Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador in the few months since the Bitcoin Law, from financial inclusion, over tourism and foreign investment to mining with renewable energy sources, before exploring the potential positive impact proper adoption could bring to the people of Central African Republic.

It can therefore be celebrated as a ray of hope that a representative of the IMF found his way to this historic meeting to listen to the presentation of the Bitcoin delegation and to participate in the discussion constructively and with interest.