Bitcoin is controversial interms of ingenuity to those who are against it, however Beatrice Wambugu a Kenyan is ripping from this investment and even training others to earn from it.
Wambugu started trading in Bitcoin two years ago and within a year she made enough money to buy the two-storey Nyeri hotel, which she converted to Betty’s Place.
Located on Nyeri town’s busy main road, the restaurant is unmistakable with its bright mustard-colored walls and big glass windows providing a welcome invitation to hungry patrons, who are greeted by a pleasant aroma of meat on the grill and the sounds of local music.
“Since the world is becoming more global, my place is also becoming a global restaurant,” says Beatrice Wambugu, the owner of the restaurant.
“I attract different customers from different parts of the world, whichever coin they have. As long as it’s a viable coin we accept it.
Betty’s Place is not only a place for tasty Kenyan cuisine, but it has become something of a local attraction for people wanting to know more about Bitcoin.
When it comes to embracing new technology, Wambugu describes herself as “a crypto-currency pioneer”.
However, her payments in Bitcoin have been modest – about Sh 30,000 (£230, $300) in sales from about 20 people.
To encourage more take up, she holds classes on how to trade in Bitcoin every Sunday at her restaurant.
“I’ve set aside one day where I can teach my customers. Whoever asks about crypto-currencies: ‘How does it work? What is Bitcoin?’ I train them,” she says.
Mobile phones make paying with crypto-currency at Betty’s Place and other retailers easy.
In Africa, the mobile phone has been instrumental in transforming the way people conduct business, and the growth of Bitcoin could one day rival mobile banking platforms like M-Pesa as a viable form of payment.
Bitcoin presents an “opportunity to do what people are calling ‘banking the unbanked'”, says James Preston, head of the publication SA Crypto, referring to more than 350 million Africans who do not have access to traditional forms of banking.
Much of the appeal of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies for investors is that they are free from the strictures of regulatory authorities, partly because legislation has not caught up with the technology yet.
In Nigeria – home to the continent’s largest Bitcoin market with more than $4m-worth traded daily – regulators have taken a much stronger stance than their South African counterparts.
Even though Bitcoin is like a gamble,business instinct and pioneering endeavor have led Wambugu to invest in Bitcoin and make it a payment alternative for her customers.
She does not need regulators to tell her how to best use the technology.
Betty’s Place is at the confluence of traditional food and modernity in a rural setting, and that is exactly how Wambugu wants it to be.
“At my place, it’s ‘nyama choma’ and ‘nyama Bitcoin’,” she added.