Unlocking Possibilities: The role of Open Payments in African speculative fiction

The diversity and innovation of the early internet have settled into a weird monopolistic set of apps that cater to the average American or European. Which is great if you’re an average American or European, but not especially helpful for anyone slightly more diverse. And, if you’re African, you lose out in ways that range from things that feel like casual ignorance all the way to outright hostility. In this episode of the Interledger Salon, three African speculative fiction creators, Gavin Chait, Dilman Dila, and Cheryl Ntumy, discuss their experiences and frustrations of publishing while being African, joined by Jeremiah Lee from the Interledger Foundation, as we assess the state of open payments and our hopes for widespread adoption of the standard.

Host: Gavin Chait: Marseille-based South African economic migrant, data scientist, researcher, engineer, sometime-traveler, and African speculative-fiction author. His novels tell stories of migration, climate change, and the founding mythologies of communities in transition. Gavin Chait and Why Thawk Mastodon: @GavinChait@wandering.shop

Guest:

• Cheryl Ntumy: Ghana-based SFF author and founding member of Petlo Literary Arts, a non-profit that develops and promotes creative writing from Botswana. She is also a founding member of the Sauútiverse Collective, an African speculative fiction collaborative world building project. Cheryl Ntumy
• Dilman Dila: Ugandan writer, film maker and a social activist. His books include Where Rivers Go To Die, which was shortlisted for the PKD Awards (2024), his films include, “What Happened in Room 13”, has been watched more than 8 million times online. He is currently working on his third feature film, about decentralized governance. Dilman DilaMastodon: @dilmandila@mograph.social
• Jeremiah Lee: a tech lead with the Interledger Foundation, supporting its grantees in building an open, global payment network. He previously worked on data infrastructure at Stripe, hardware integrations at Spotify, and web APIs at Fitbit. Jeremiah Lee Mastodon: @Jeremiah@alpaca.gold