Welcome to What Would Amber Do with your host, Amber Howard. Each week, Amber dances in conversation with inspirational leaders out to make a difference for what matters most to people. She brings you incredible guests who share their real life experiences of being a leader and what it looks like to live a truly created life of service to others. And now, here is your host.

Welcome back, everyone, to What Would Amber Do? Welcome back. It's great to have you here with us this morning. I am so excited and just honored to be speaking with Halima this morning. Halima is a writer, affiliate marketer, and digital community leader, focused on tech development and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. She co-founded Oromos in Tech, a tech and entrepreneurship ecosystem. She moderates Woman in Clubhouse. Women in Crypto, sorry, which is a chapter of Woman in Business on one of the sixth, like the sixth largest Clubhouse on the Clubhouse platform. Along with her other creations, Halima is involved, heavily involved with Afrobiz.ca and Hotep Nation, which builds sovereignty and sustainability with underserved communities. Halima's commitment is around connecting people and extending resources, bridging tech with underserved communities. Halima, thank you so much for being on the show this morning.

Thank you so much for having me, Amber. It's a pleasure, and I'm really excited wrapping this year with you here today.

I know, we're coming to the end of the year. How great is that? And I've been looking forward to this conversation for a while. Some of you may remember Halima's voice. She interviewed me on the show a couple of weeks ago where I was sharing some of the things that are shifting and being created newly in my own business, which was such a great opportunity. Halima, uh, just thank you for that conversation. And just really thank you. I just want to acknowledge you and the and the commitment that you really have and are to, you know, I believe that there are enough resources in the world for all of us to be taken care of and have our needs met. And we're, we're, I think we're gonna talk about this more this morning. A lot of times there's so many resources out there that people don't even know exist. So, like you are someone for me with like a deep commitment that people get connected to the resources that'll make a difference in the living of their lives, the fulfillment of their dreams. And just so thank you for being that kind of human being.

Gosh, it's amazing. I appreciate that. Um, it's really huge. And um yeah, I want to say it also has to do with like just um backgrounds and experiences. Um, I realize that when you know we have so little, um, the focus is there to zone in and you know get more of what's out there. Um and I'm present also to just the luxury of being in North America, to be specific. Um, because some of the resources and access that we have here, you know, in other parts of the world, people don't have that access, yet the productivity of, you know, that is coming out is much more greater. Um, so looking to really build that gap, you know, starting with self and and then expanding it to others uh just by doing the work and tagging along those that are there, uh, you know, to want to do the work. Uh so I would say that it encompasses about that, and I'm excited to be here.

So good. So talk to me a little bit about the journey. Like what has your journey been like to, you know, I I assert, not like it's a truth, but that people don't wake up one day and it's like, oh, cryptocurrency, oh digital marketing, oh, you know, woman in business. Like, what what what has been the the journey that you've gone on that's led you to the point where you you say, right? Like that this is where I want to focus my leadership in the world.

Yes, that's an excellent question. Um, it would sound like you know, there's a lot happening. However, one discovery for me was what is the one thing that I would do? Um, and that has been consistent. Um, I want to take it back to just purpose, you know, starting with purpose. Um, just uncovering what that purpose in my life would be. Um, one of the great books that I have read at a time where I had no home, you know, had no status in this country that I'm in at the time, was facing deportation, and just everything that could possibly go wrong was happening in my life. Yet I was so fortunate that prior to that time and up until that time, I was, you know, suddenly opened to learning and being present to the law of attraction and just the law of the universe. Um, and someone handed me this book, Man's Search for a Meaning. You know, like shout out to Dean for that. Um, this is by author Victor E. Frankel. And at this time, when I was reading this book, I was living in a shelter and I was facing deportation, you know, um, just departed a domestic violence situation. And what I realized was wow, this job that I had at the time was basically um fundraising uh for because I'm a girl campaign. And this because I'm a girl campaign, it was like, you know, reaching out to people and saying, hey, support and sponsor a child in Africa or Cambodia. And, you know, these children don't have birth certificates, they don't have water, clean water. And so I was counting my blessings that A, I was still in Canada, that B, you know what? Like, thank God for a shelter system. Like, like those resources were available to me because having gone through those experiences, you know, anywhere else in the world, you know, I would not have been as fortunate to be able to, you know, remove and be able to stand on my feet and propel. And so with that, um, you know, like my aspirational journey was to become a medical doctor. And the root of that excitement was to eventually, you know, build uh community health centers to create support for underserved communities. You know, we're in the technology of 3D printing, you know, like there's so much possible. So, really, the end goal was how can I make massive impact? And what is it that I have to do to get on my feet to get there and be able to do that? Um, so that question really had me, you know, while I was in school, um, you know, go into different communities, go and learn what is the solution that tech is solving. You know, having been a teenager during the dot-com bubble, I was like, I can't miss this bubble, and we got to find out what it is that we can do. Um, and so with um Bitcoin, in my journey, I've seen a relative mining Bitcoin the first time that it was out. So I knew that there was something sound from it uh that could be coming. And so what I did was I just like dove into these tech events, uh, started with hackathons and went on from there to just volunteer and assist at the events. Um, I so I did that to plug in to be able to learn. Uh, and uh been really fortunate. You know, I've dabbled into the network marketing space and I've learned skills of, you know, how to engage with people in business, how networking really works, how the ecosystem of business operates, you know, through communities. Um, so the power of community got revealed for that for me. Um, and in the tech space, I found that, you know, I wasn't really present, but around, I would look around and there was just not enough people that were of similar skin color as mine. And, you know, and I say that because it was just normal for me until I started to find people who were successful in these spaces, you know, being even extra helpful and supportive and want to help someone that is like, you know, of color and want to reach out. And I'm like, hey, wait a minute. This is great. There should be more people because I'm already here. You know, and there there's there must be others who are wondering, you know, where they can get these access to these resources. There is a ton of people that are applying for jobs, and you know, you know, there's all these different stories of whether it's their postal code or their last name or whatever excuses it is that, you know, doesn't get them qualified or picked up from the mass um, you know, applications that someone would apply. Um, however, showing up in spaces, doing the work, showing that there's passion in this, uh, you know, the potential is limitless and it really like puts you, you are under the radar of others, and so is that focus. Um to bring back, I think in the end, it's like going back to basics of roots. Um, my parents, where they have like the work that they have done to bring me to where I am. Like, I'm fortunate that I got to speak English fluently from a very young age. And I've also grown to see people, you know, moving to North America in their adult years and learning English from scratch. And, you know, basically what they could have accomplished in so much less time, they still managed to accomplish it. And there is no time constraint to any accomplishments. It's, you know, whatever someone places for themselves. Um, so one of the um challenges that um is experienced through like my um ancestors and my ethnic groups is that there is a there is a big struggle. You know, um not a lot of people know about um like my people, which are Oromos. Um my mother tongue is Oromo. Uh and um it's the largest, fourth largest language that is spoken in Africa. Uh, and uh the it's the largest indigenous group in Ethiopia, 55 million strong. Um, yet there is a big gap in the opportunity for them to propel, um, to have access to be able to thrive competitively as their peers. So going into you know, political, socialist activism stream isn't really an area where I found that I can bring the best value. There's other people that are doing that, they've been doing that for decades. That's their expertise. What do what can I do? Um, one really interesting thing, I recently just completed the heroes journey with Darren Hardy. It was a year-long program, and that was really exciting. I'm very proud that I've completed this journey and I'm gonna go through it again next year. Um, and one thing that Darren said, um, you know, and this stood out also a while back, and he reiterated, is that like when we look at um animals and other creatures, everyone is like a squirrel, is like going out and getting all the nuts that it can, you know, as much as it can, so does the ant, so do the bees. However, humans, we're the ones who are willing to do the least when we have the capacity to do the most. So, you know, so I got present to the power of human resource capital. And so it's like if I can't do everything, if I can't learn everything, what is it that we can do? You know, I can bring together people. Um, you know, and you know, with that, the leverage of the power with like the proverb that goes, many hands make light work. So we can make work lighter by being having more hands on deck. And um, that's where Oromos and Tech got kicked off. You know, I had this vision um and I acquired a domain. Someone else, just like me, had that vision, and they started a Twitter account. A couple of other people also had that same vision, and they started on Clubhouse, and we all collectively came together and we founded Oromosen Tech. And um, we're approaching our one-year anniversary soon, and uh we have over 600 members uh worldwide that have partnered with us, and uh we've been really fortunate that we even got to participate and partner in uh recently in a hackathon uh with Block Hack, uh, which is um one of it's the uh first um group that hosted hackathons um in the Bitcoin space in Toronto. And um so yeah, that that that happened. And as I was doing that, the other area that um I got present to is I must continue working on myself. And and and that's where the hero's journey came in for me. Um, and there is a forever work to do in that. And um so yeah, um, you know, there's people interested in the areas of cybersecurity, people interested in areas of web development or machine learning or AI. Now we have a diverse group, diverse interest. And, you know, coming back to your mention earlier about the abundant resources, uh, you know, where do we get started? What is the right information to, you know, follow? And this is where institutions and academias still hold the precedence of, you know, being um credible with the programming that's offered. Uh, meanwhile, we're also in the age of where you know getting Google certified is just as great for someone to land an excellent job and be able to build a business, you know, provided that you know you're doubling down and expanding on it. Um, so yeah, that's that's been great. Um, so all of these years of you know, um networking in the different communities now have found a purpose to be able to bring that down and consolidate these resources. And uh we're kind of we're sharing it as we go with our community where we meet one-on-one with um, you know, uh people who are interested in exploring certain careers. And uh what we're also going to be doing is now, you know, inviting people in these special areas to come and talk about those spaces and also connect people with mentorship and um other um opportunities that are in the spaces to participate as opposed to holding protests and stating that life isn't fair and we're missing out and we're not getting opportunities, if that makes sense.

So you said a lot, and I'm present to like there are many different ways to fulfill on why we were created. And you know, not like there's I mean, I've done my fair share of activism and protests and you know, the the Bush administrations back in the day, wars in Iraq, and I, you know, all of those things to have a place. But what I what I love so much about what you said, Halima, is it's like um, again, not like there's anything wrong with those things, but when people have access to resources in order to be able to perhaps create and express in the world what it is that they want to create and express in the world, then that provides another avenue for activism, for social change. Uh and you know what what one of the things that's really close to my heart, and and and it's in this conversation here is like, and I love what you do around connecting people and bringing communities together and bridging different communities. Because I think, you know, we have like last time I checked, 10 million not-for-profits in the world, let alone all of the NGOs, passion projects, social entrepreneurs, all of these people who are out, like there is like no end. Well, perhaps there's an end, you could probably count them all, but really when you think about it, like this massive community of people globally who are out to make a difference for what matters to human beings, and yet very little partnership, very little collaboration, a lot of, in my view, wasted resources because, you know, how many campaigns do you need for anti-bullying? How many people, you know, like there's all of these people, so many boards of directors, so many marketing campaigns. When it's like, well, you know, when you when you scale it all back, there may be different reasons why people want to end bullying or want to deal with climate change or want to end poverty, you know, all of that. But at the core, like the commitment is is is is a shared commitment, right? So what if you could pull those resources? What if, you know, and I've talked with I don't know if I've talked with you about this, but I've talked with a few other people about this. What if we only had one global tree planting campaign? And every year, the, you know, we look to the science community to say, where's the biggest bang for our buck? Right? Instead of planting 500 trees in this community and a thousand trees over here, we we pulled all of those resources and the and the scientists said, you know, you're gonna make the biggest difference in climate change if you go plant all your trees in Brazil this year. So you go plant all your trees in Brazil and you plant them, you know, a million or a billion trees in one area, and then the next year. But it's like that working together, bringing all of these energies together and into one place. And I think there's so not only will it would operate in that way, like if we could cause that kind of global partnership and collaboration, not only would we achieve the ends, you know, the results we're looking for that much faster, um there would be a greater sense of connection. Like, you know, because I think so many leaders in these organizations end up feeling alone, you know, because they're out fighting the good battle on their own. And there's this whole network of people out there in the world, even if they don't have the exact same purpose, who are out to cause a world that works for everyone. And uh my hope is really, you know, one of the platforms I want to create will hopefully, you know, cause that kind of global partnership and collaboration. But I think it's it's really important work that you're doing.

That's so awesome. Uh, thank you so much, Amber. This is really great that you've put it in that way. Um, I got present to a moment where I actually had a shift from the ideology of activism to myself, focus on what it is that we can do to um enable um capitalism. You know, and and I want to say this, I say this cautiously because, you know, capitalism may be looked at um and maybe frowned upon um by some. Um, however, I find that both work is important, um, you know, in what you were mentioning, because yes, it's important that there is activism and people speaking out, you know, standing up for the truth, you know, when no one else, you know, is willing to. And that takes a huge um character to be praised, which is called courage. You know, um, and that is sacrifice that's being done. Um, however, um, in this class that I took at Trent University, you know, we were diving into international human um development issues and the breakdowns and the problems in, you know, overseas um support in the nonprofit areas. And that was the first time I learned that all our cell phones that we use, you know, has Colton, which like hundreds and thousands and millions of people have died for, and child labor and all of that stuff. Yet we are taking, we are using the resource, we are reaping from that benefit, you know. But yet there is somebody who is also out there, you know, being an activist for that cause. Um, and so there. Therefore, what it is that I can do in my lifetime to make an impact, that is the distinction that I had to make for myself in looking at how it is that I can take this approach. And with that, you know, being self-sustained and, you know, becoming when one is independent, then we're able to stand on our feet to be able to help others is also another area that I got present to. And, you know, if I can do that even for one person for one life, then that is a difference that has been made that they can go out there and continue doing the work in making a difference in the lives of others. Um, and so with that, you know, without like going out there and trying to like, you know, uh be a preacher, um, what I'm present to is I got to do that work and keep doing it. And, you know, the people will come. Yes. Um this brings me actually to how I got to niche, you know, in in what you have said. Uh, because as you said, there's a lot of things to work on, you know, how do how do we focus on the one thing? Um, and this is where over the last um few years I've been working with Afrobiz.ca and Afrobizworld.com, uh, you know, with the initiative to help uh Black-owned businesses to become competitive on the internet. And what that means is having the right tools of technology uh that will help you be successful to be in the high competitive range with everybody else. And we have tons of information that's out there, um, you know, tons of resources and businesses that offer these services. Um, however, what Afrobas started off with doing is offering them at affordable rates so people can start. Um, and so with that, you know, that dove me into the world of affiliate marketing and blogging. Um, so writing is one area where, you know, expression um can be stated and it's nothing more powerful than scribe. That like if I would like say one line in this entire event today, there would only be this one thing that I'm present to, is that you know, scribe, you know, writing is what the most powerful tool because you know it's through documentation that countries have taken over other countries. It's through documentation that ownership of something is being stated. It's through documentation and writing um that you know one's argument can be referred to as the source of validation. And I don't know whether that makes sense. Um, however, I'm present to the power of scribe, and that's why I'm go ahead.

I was gonna say it does make sense, right? I mean, it's been said, like whoever writes the history, like you know, the victor writes the history, right? It's like, but it's always from, I mean, what's always interested me is it's always from one point of view, right? Like it's not, but we don't relate. It's interesting the relationship we have to the written word. Um, you know, fiction, nonfiction. It's like, well, what is really, you know, we we relate to works of nonfiction as if they're the truth. When anything that's ever documented is always documented through the lens and the view of the person who wrote it and their lived experience. And it's not to invalidate any of that or say it's not it, but it's a possible view, not the truth. And and so it's interesting to me, um, you know, especially seeing as a lot of the written history of of human beings of the world was written from the perspective of men, right? So I always like like to think like, what if you were to have a written history of humanity written through the lens or the viewpoint of women, what what would be different? Yes. Yeah, so I think you're I and it's interesting, right? Like I hadn't thought about it in terms of like ownership. Um, but like literally, you know, it's through documentation that human beings were given the right to own other human beings and and land, and land, you know, treaties that were signed, that where land was like taken from other other communities and other peoples, and and you know, so uh there is a lot of power only insofar as we give that writing and those documents power and when we in the agreement realities that we live in, we say that they have power.

Yes, yes, so cool. And I love that you brought that up. I'm so glad you mentioned about you know the um the this the scriptures also being written, you know, mostly from men versus women. Um, this is where um, you know, in in the consensus, the power of peer, you know, scholars and you know, group writings when there's more than one person stating that this is the way things are or this is how we think it is, and they're agreeing on it. Um, you know, that's another area where you know, for example, the scientific industry um, you know, is relies on peer um reviewed scholars and researches and so on. And um, this very point that you've mentioned about land is actually the key thing that made me really intrigued and highly focused to dive in and learn more about Bitcoin and the blockchain ecosystem. It's because you know, I watched this video by Don Tapscott, um, and um he uh talked about uh the blockchain revolution and the Internet of Things. And with that, it opened my eyes. And this is the very issue that you know, people in Oromia, um, the indigenous people in Ethiopia are dealing with, is like there is a colonial system that continues to operate today, and it's the storyline goes that you know, Oromo people were on their land that got invaded, and then the invaders became the landlords, and the landlords became the tenants. You know, and um it's one of the solutions that the there's work and attempt and interest to solve through, you know, when land registry takes place on blockchain, that this is someone's land, that someone else is not able to come and tamper with that information. Because even through our regular way of documentation now, someone can come and make some edits, delete, erase, you know, print it over again, and the same agreement may not be um there. And it's very natural that we're humans, uh, you know, so there is, you know, corruption, the seed of corruption that exists in, you know, us as humans. And this is where the technology of uh Bitcoin can is untampered with because there is more than just a handful of people that validate and authenticate any you know transaction that would take place on the on the blockchain.

So talk to me a little bit about that, because I, you know, I think like I know for myself that I don't have like there are aspects of Bitcoin and you know um cryptocurrencies, I hadn't even ever thought about, like, you know, that there could be other applications for that technology, right? In terms of land ownership that you're talking about, agreements between peoples, um, and protecting those agreements. So for especially for women, but for really for anyone, Halema, if you're wanting to get an understanding, because I think for a lot of people, cryptocurrencies, this technology, um, blockchain technology, all of these things are um very complicated, occur or seem as very complicated. And so what's an what's an easy access or a way in which people could access or learn about cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, blockchain, um yeah, in a way that's accessible for them?

That's great. That's a great question. And this is a developing area, first of all, I have to say. And uh, which is why, like, I'm not gonna say I'm a preacher in this space, because um, there is one thing to distinguish. You know, I've talked about um the land registry, and these are things that are being done on, you know, what we call smart contracts. Um, and that that was also another area where I've continued to have to dive and learn more about because you know, Bitcoin um white paper got released by a pseudonym named um Satoshi Nakamoto. And what happened after that, and this was basically plain peer-to-peer transaction, eliminating a third party to have to authenticate the transaction. What that means is, you know, when we have the dollars, uh, our bank is the intermediary to validate that this money has value. Um, however, in a peer-to-peer transaction, when I send you Bitcoin, uh, you know, the information that I send you, I'm not sending you a copy of it, you know, in order to verify that I have sent it to you and that you have received it. You know, this information gets sent to thousands of computers. Um, and there are what we call miners, uh, people who mine are they're solving a puzzle, a piece of the puzzle of this information. Um, and the person who solves it gets rewarded, and that's when the Bitcoin is generated. And this basically eliminates from having one central source uh to be able to hack and penetrate that information. Now, with that being said, um, you know, Ethereum is and the rest of all of the different cryptocurrencies have come about, um, which actually started here in Toronto. Um, so that was also another area where all of these use cases are out there. You know, there's a lot of lobbying happening in the spaces with parliament. Um, and so in terms of um fiscal um integrity, I would say Bitcoin is the standard. And there's a book for that, and I would invite you to check out uh Seifin Amos' book called The Bitcoin Standard, you know, and this would really uh create a great distinction in that. Um, however, there's also, you know, the key thing is Bitcoin is decentralized, and that was the powerful thing that has made it um reliable and adoptable, meaning that there is nobody who has governance over it. So no one can tamper with it, and no one can shut it down. However, with all other, you know, people would ask me, hey, what is this crypto? You know, what crypto should I get and all of that stuff? I really can't talk about it. You know, I've um checked out the projects, I've been in the spaces, and they're not necessarily decentralized. Uh, and that is something that, you know, that has to be distinguished. However, some of these technologies, for example, you know, companies are want to create system um, you know, on the blockchain. So they are taking advantage of, you know, these tools that are available where they can improve their systems. Um, so would land registry be decentralized? I don't know. Um, what would that look like? That is a question I'm still looking for an answer. Um, and discovering and seeing what other people are doing. And for example, Ghana, you know, has um looked to launch um, you know, land registry on blockchain uh and a couple of other places like Belize, you can also buy real estate on blockchain. Uh so it's, you know, seeing that there's still gonna be a lot of, you know, technicalities, a lot of, you know, regulations uh to go through. So it's a lot of great areas in this specific industry. And my take, one thing that I can say is it's great that you can learn to, you know, this is not financial advice, but um have yourself some Bitcoin. You know, yes, um, and that would come from a monetary space and you know, look at what it is, what is there uh for someone in discovering what it is that they can do in that space. Um, it's a lot of learning space. And this is where also we're taking back with Oromos and Tech to be able to bring the resources, explore these areas, and also the privilege that um now working with the Bitcoin Conference uh in you know, focusing on the niche area of Bitcoin and how it can be scaled uh to be adopted globally.

So just to kind of wrap this all up, if you were like, if I'm especially, you know, because like I know a lot of your focus, Halima, is like woman in tech. And you know, if I'm a female leader, if I'm a like what why why get into this this conversation? Like, what is there, you know, about cryptocurrencies that um that is gonna make a difference in my life as a female leader or as a woman in the world?

That's a great question. Um, I want to say Bitcoin is for everyone. And if you are dealing with money, then you ought to learn about Bitcoin. Um, you know, and I would just really like if I were to do it in one sentence, that would be it. Now we can go into a whole lot of expansions, gaming, NFT, art, like you know, you name it. There's so much that people are doing out there. However, when taking out all the fluff, bringing it down to basics, you have money in the bank, you have a business, you accept that money, you deal with money, then you ought to pay attention to Bitcoin and see what it is about and find a thread of how you know it you can bring that into your ecosystem or what it can do for you. And there are spaces to come and discover and learn more. And um, that's also one of the things that uh women in business on Clubhouse, which is the sixth largest club on Clubhouse, you know, is creating a space for women and ex-women to be able to connect, network, and build stronger ecosystems to be able to thrive and make a difference in the world.

That's beautiful. Thank you. And just really thank you for being someone who is not afraid to like try new things and look in new spaces and like really embraces um the opportunity of technology because I know for a lot of people it can be a little bit scary. So if you're interested at all in learning more about the communities that Helema is a part of and the things that she's up to, you can find out all of the information about how to get a hold of her in the show notes as well. Read, I'm gonna go get me a copy of the Bitcoin standard, the book that you recommended. Uh, because I think this is an area I would like to understand better. I do believe I own a little bit of some kind of cryptocurrency somewhere, but I don't, you know, it's like not an area I know a lot about. Yeah. Um, so just Talima, thank you for your leadership. And and like I'm walking away from this conversation, really getting like really present for myself that there are so many different ways that leadership gets expressed in the world. And uh, you know, you know the stand I am for connection and community. And and uh I just love you and just thank you for for being a partner in in causing a world where people get to experience connection and community, um, regardless of who they are, where they live, you know, what the circumstances are of their life.

I love you, Amber. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's always a pleasure and enlightening to be around you and experience you. And um, shout out to What Would Amber Do's podcast? Love it. Keep going and uh looking forward. Thank you so much.

Yes, I can't wait to see what you create. And I guess like we as we move into the new year, I can't wait to see what you continue to create in 2022. Amazing, amazing. For everyone listening to the show, thank you for joining us this week. We'll be back next week and have a great weekend.

Thank you so much for joining us for this week's episode. For more information on the show and our extraordinary guests, check out whatwoodamberdo.com.