What Was ETHSafari 2023?
ETHSafari 2023 was Africa's premier Ethereum conference, hackathon, and festival, organized by SafariDAO and held across Kenya from 18 to 24 September 2023. A seven-day multi-venue journey, the event began with a bootcamp and hackathon in Nairobi (18–22 September), continued with the legendary "Blocktrain" ride on the Madaraka Express railway across the Kenyan savannah (22 September), and culminated in a three-day conference and festival "Beneath the Baobabs" in Kilifi on the Kenyan coast. The event attracted 300+ participants from 30+ countries. Details sat on the official ETHSafari website. "Safari" means "journey" in Swahili — and ETHSafari's multi-leg format made the journey itself as much a part of the experience as the destination.
To follow similar shows, check CoinGabbar's crypto hackathons hub and the crypto events calendar.
Key Themes and Event Highlights
Five core content tracks — DAOs, DeFi, Gaming, NFTs, and Impact — ran through both the Nairobi and Kilifi programmes.
Event Highlights
- Nairobi bootcamp (Sep 18-19): A two-day technical bootcamp prepared developers for the hackathon — featuring both live and online content covering Ethereum fundamentals, DeFi, smart contracts, and the five event tracks.
- Hackathon (Sep 20-22): Teams were paired with local and international mentors to tackle blockchain challenges across the five tracks. The hackathon was held in partnership with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) School of Computing.
- Blocktrain — The Madaraka Express: One of the event's most iconic moments — participants rode the Madaraka Express from Nairobi to the Kenyan coast through the savannah and Tsavo National Park, with views of Mount Kilimanjaro. Hackers continued working on trains while others attended talks and meetups in other train cars.
- Beneath the Baobabs (Sep 22-24): The culminating conference and festival in Kilifi — a breathtaking outdoor coastal venue featuring keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, and genuine festival celebration. Kilifi's open-air setting under baobab trees became one of blockchain's most distinctive conference environments.
- Women in blockchain: Kenya Blockchain Ladies DAO and H.E.R DAO sponsored 20 women to attend ETHSafari — ensuring gender diversity at Africa's most significant Ethereum event.
- Hackathon winners: Notable projects included Givvie (decentralized savings platform helping users hedge against hyperinflation in Africa), ElimuDAO (verifiable credentials for informal community learning), and Investa Farm (agriculture blockchain for traceability and transparency) — which won the Aragon Bounty of $1,250.
- Artstorm.nft: A sister project launched at ETHSafari to transform underutilized urban spaces across Kenya into Green Art Spaces — bridging NFT culture with real-world environmental and community impact.
How Ethereum and Web3 Are Growing in Kenya
Kenya is one of Africa's most advanced crypto markets. The Finance Act 2023 formally taxed crypto gains. M-Pesa's dominance means Kenyans are comfortable with digital transactions. ETHSafari (organized by SafariDAO) was awarded 82,229.9 OP tokens in Optimism's RetroPGF3 — recognizing the event's public goods contribution to the Ethereum ecosystem. The Africa Bitcoin Conference, Binance East Africa tours, and ETHSafari collectively make Nairobi one of the continent's top blockchain event cities. For more shows, see CoinGabbar's crypto hackathons hub.
Impact on Africa's Ethereum Ecosystem
The 2023 event proved that African Ethereum events don't need to imitate Western conference formats. The Blocktrain ride, the Beneath the Baobabs coastal setting, and the community-first DAO governance of SafariDAO produced an event that participants consistently describe as one of their most memorable Web3 experiences globally. The hackathon projects — addressing African-specific problems like hyperinflation hedging and agricultural traceability — demonstrated that African developers are building for African needs, not just deploying global DeFi templates.
Why Sponsors, Exhibitors and Projects Should Join
- Ethereum ecosystem protocols: reach Africa's most engaged Ethereum developers at an event that explicitly focuses on African-specific blockchain use cases.
- Impact and social good projects: the Impact track and the event's public goods ethos attract exactly the developers building blockchain for social benefit.
- DAO governance tools: SafariDAO itself is a DAO — and attendees are among the most sophisticated DAO practitioners in the African ecosystem.
- Agriculture and supply chain blockchain: Investa Farm's Aragon Bounty win shows the appetite for blockchain in African agricultural contexts — a massive market opportunity.
To get involved, list a crypto event or email event@coingabbar.io.
Why KOLs, Media and Influencers Attend
This event produces some of blockchain's most visually and culturally distinctive content — baobab trees, Kenyan coast, train journeys through Tsavo. For media covering Ethereum's global expansion into emerging markets, it is unmissable. Coverage can spread through the crypto press release network.
Why Builders and Participants Join
Developers come for the hackathon mentorship, the African-specific blockchain challenges, and the unforgettable experience of building on trains and hacking under baobab trees on the Kenyan coast. For global Ethereum participants, it offers a radically different perspective on who blockchain is for and what it can do.
Tickets and PR Offers With CoinGabbar
CoinGabbar covers blockchain events in Africa and globally. Free or discounted press release publishing is available. Email event@coingabbar.io.
How the Event Concluded and What Came Next
The event closed on 24 September in Kilifi, with the broader blockchain community having gotten a vivid demonstration of Africa's blockchain potential. SafariDAO received Optimism RetroPGF3 funding (82,229.9 OP) recognizing the event's public goods contribution. A 2024 edition returned for another edition. Track upcoming shows on the crypto events calendar and our crypto hackathons page.
Glossary of Key Terms
- SafariDAO: the decentralized autonomous organization that organizes ETHSafari — dedicated to raising the profile of African Web3 projects and bridging the gap between the African and global Ethereum ecosystems.
- Madaraka Express: Kenya's standard-gauge railway connecting Nairobi to Mombasa, passing through the savannah and Tsavo National Park — the "Blocktrain" for ETHSafari participants.
- Beneath the Baobabs: ETHSafari's iconic outdoor venue in Kilifi on the Kenyan coast, where the conference and festival portion takes place under ancient baobab trees.
- Optimism RetroPGF: Optimism's Retroactive Public Goods Funding programme, which awards OP tokens to projects that have contributed public goods to the Ethereum ecosystem. SafariDAO received 82,229.9 OP in RetroPGF3.
- Givvie: An ETHSafari 2023 hackathon project — a decentralized savings platform designed to help users in hyperinflation-affected African economies hedge their savings against currency depreciation.
Disclaimer
This page is for general information only. It is not financial, legal, or investment advice. The event described was held in September 2023; future dates may differ. Verify with the official source and do your own research. Crypto assets are volatile.
