From African Bitcoin code to M-pesa bot hacker: I just had more free time

Author: Velvet Gold Mine Image source: Dazhi

Michael Bumann spent several months in Nairobi, Kenya, for industry technical exchanges in the field of technology. During this time, he noticed an interesting phenomenon: feature phones are popular in Nairobi, which makes M-pesa's mobile banking service legal, and by combining some open source tools, people can legally deposit Bitcoin directly into their M-pesa accounts with the help of information managers.

Bumann said: “I have been thinking about how to increase the use of Bitcoin among the public given the existing infrastructure. In my spare time, I have been trying to build a connection between Bitcoin and M-pesa using some of the apps that people use, such as WhatsApp and Telegram.”

Cointelegraph spoke with Bumann about his previously undisclosed thoughts on bots, his vision for the future of Kenya’s tech industry, and more.

CoinTelegraph: What gave you the idea to link Bitcoin and M-pesa together?

Bumann: I am very interested in the mobile and prepaid industry in many places, including Kenya. I am very interested in how people in Kenya use technology and how it affects development, obviously when I say technology, I also mean the mobile money system and the surrounding ecosystem.

CT: What made you decide to go to Naropi?

MB: Actually, I was going to Rwanda to visit some friends and see what's new in Kenya. It's been a while since I last went to Kenya, so a trip to Kenya was a natural choice. I love Nairobi, its lifestyle, its energy and even its chaos, so I stayed longer than I originally expected.

CT: I saw on Github that you have a collaboration with AfricaHackTrip. What is this project like?

MB: AfricaHackTrip was founded in 2013 by a group of European developers and designers who were interested in the emerging tech scene in Africa. We decided to explore East Africa because we knew very little about this part of the world but wanted to learn more about it. We visited tech companies in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

“Our goal is to bring together the hacker culture of Europe and Africa. We firmly believe that personal experience and exposure to it will build a lasting network of connections.”

MB: Our goal was and is to stay connected with our peers here in Africa, learn from each other, and then merge the hacker culture of Europe and Africa. We firmly believe that personal experience and exposure to it can build a lasting network of connections. I really learned a lot from this trip, so I recommend that everyone go to a place where they don’t know much and take a journey of exploration and learning about technology. Take action and travel!

CT: What is the internet connection like in Nairobi? Can most people connect to the internet and use it, or is it limited to feature phones?

MB: That's an interesting question. I think it varies from place to place in Naraku, but generally speaking, we have a good internet connection. It depends on where you are, whether you are on 3G or 4G, but you have to be very frugal with your data. Sometimes you have to use several megabytes of data to open a very ordinary website, and the developers of course don't care about this, which is quite annoying. Most restaurants have free Wi-Fi, and the surrounding space has a good network signal, so you often choose to work in these places.

CT: Among the projects or products you have participated in in the past, are there any that you are particularly proud of?

MB: For the past few years I have been co-developing Railsolve, a German IT consultancy.

Apart from the Railsolve project I am involved in, I am very happy that I have the opportunity to support and work with the tech community in Cologne, Germany. We have set up a coworking space in Cologne where many tech companies meet and collaborate. I am very proud to be a part of this project and contribute to it.

CT: Where do you see the next decade going?

MB: The outlook for the next decade is very bright.

I currently work in a coworking space in Kigali, Rwanda, and every day there I am reminded:

I hope that someday all borders will disappear. Let us all join in this great cause!

CT: Are there any other projects you think are worth people’s attention?

MB: There are so many projects on the Internet that are worth praising. But I can easily get distracted by different projects, which is a bad thing. I am currently learning about DNSChain, which is a project very similar to OpenAssets, and at the same time, I am also learning about a project called OpenBazaar.

"You know, the ability to create new things here is really amazing. I'm definitely going to miss that creativity."

CT: Do you plan to stay in Africa? If not, what will you miss most?

MB: I am currently planning to stay in Rwanda until January, and I have not thought about the rest of my plans yet. I have not heard enough about Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, but I know that the ability to create new things here is really amazing, and I will definitely miss this creativity in the future.

CT: How did you get started in the world of hacking and coding?

MB: When I was a kid, we had a computer in our house (thanks to my dad and my uncle), and for some reason I had to learn how to use it to solve problems. That's how I got interested in code, as a tool to create things, hopefully one day something useful.

CT: When can we expect to see your bot code for Telegram and WhatsApp?

MB: I will write more technical posts soon and publish them, but these are all just pre-existing tools and I am just connecting them together. I am just standing on the shoulders of giants.

Author: Velvet Gold Mine Image source: Dazhi

Michael Bumann spent several months in Nairobi, Kenya, for industry technical exchanges in the field of technology. During this time, he noticed an interesting phenomenon: feature phones are popular in Nairobi, which makes M-pesa's mobile banking service legal, and by combining some open source tools, people can legally deposit Bitcoin directly into their M-pesa accounts with the help of information managers.

Bumann said: “I have been thinking about how to increase the use of Bitcoin among the public given the existing infrastructure. In my spare time, I have been trying to build a connection between Bitcoin and M-pesa using some of the apps that people use, such as WhatsApp and Telegram.”

Cointelegraph spoke with Bumann about his previously undisclosed thoughts on bots, his vision for the future of Kenya’s tech industry, and more.

CoinTelegraph: What gave you the idea to link Bitcoin and M-pesa together?

Bumann: I am very interested in the mobile and prepaid industry in many places, including Kenya. I am very interested in how people in Kenya use technology and how it affects development, obviously when I say technology, I also mean the mobile money system and the surrounding ecosystem.

CT: What made you decide to go to Naropi?

MB: Actually, I was going to Rwanda to visit some friends and see what's new in Kenya. It's been a while since I last went to Kenya, so a trip to Kenya was a natural choice. I love Nairobi, its lifestyle, its energy and even its chaos, so I stayed longer than I originally expected.

CT: I saw on Github that you have a collaboration with AfricaHackTrip. What is this project like?

MB: AfricaHackTrip was founded in 2013 by a group of European developers and designers who were interested in the emerging tech scene in Africa. We decided to explore East Africa because we knew very little about this part of the world but wanted to learn more about it. We visited tech companies in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

“Our goal is to bring together the hacker culture of Europe and Africa. We firmly believe that personal experience and exposure to it will build a lasting network of connections.”

MB: Our goal was and is to stay connected with our peers here in Africa, learn from each other, and then merge the hacker culture of Europe and Africa. We firmly believe that personal experience and exposure to it can build a lasting network of connections. I really learned a lot from this trip, so I recommend that everyone go to a place where they don’t know much and take a journey of exploration and learning about technology. Take action and travel!

CT: What is the internet connection like in Nairobi? Can most people connect to the internet and use it, or is it limited to feature phones?

MB: That's an interesting question. I think it varies from place to place in Naraku, but generally speaking, we have a good internet connection. It depends on where you are, whether you are on 3G or 4G, but you have to be very frugal with your data. Sometimes you have to use several megabytes of data to open a very ordinary website, and the developers of course don't care about this, which is quite annoying. Most restaurants have free Wi-Fi, and the surrounding space has a good network signal, so you often choose to work in these places.

CT: Among the projects or products you have participated in in the past, are there any that you are particularly proud of?

MB: For the past few years I have been co-developing Railsolve, a German IT consultancy.

Apart from the Railsolve project I am involved in, I am very happy that I have the opportunity to support and work with the tech community in Cologne, Germany. We have set up a coworking space in Cologne where many tech companies meet and collaborate. I am very proud to be a part of this project and contribute to it.

CT: Where do you see the next decade going?

MB: The outlook for the next decade is very bright.

I currently work in a coworking space in Kigali, Rwanda, and every day there I am reminded:

I hope that someday all borders will disappear. Let us all join in this great cause!

CT: Are there any other projects you think are worth people’s attention?

MB: There are so many projects on the Internet that are worth praising. But I can easily get distracted by different projects, which is a bad thing. I am currently learning about DNSChain, which is a project very similar to OpenAssets, and at the same time, I am also learning about a project called OpenBazaar.

"You know, the ability to create new things here is really amazing. I'm definitely going to miss that creativity."

CT: Do you plan to stay in Africa? If not, what will you miss most?

MB: I am currently planning to stay in Rwanda until January, and I have not thought about the rest of my plans yet. I have not heard enough about Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, but I know that the ability to create new things here is really amazing, and I will definitely miss this creativity in the future.

CT: How did you get started in hacking and coding?

MB: When I was a kid, we had a computer in our house (thanks to my dad and my uncle), and for some reason I had to learn how to use it to solve problems. That's how I got interested in code, as a tool to create things, hopefully one day something useful.

CT: When can we expect to see your bot code for Telegram and WhatsApp?

MB: I will write more technical posts soon and publish them, but these are all just pre-existing tools and I am just connecting them together. I am just standing on the shoulders of giants.