defi messiah
lagos --:-- wat work with me
01 index lagos, nigeria
AI builder & researcher · known onchain as Defi Messiah

EdidiongUmana

I help Africa build with AI. I teach it in workshops, build it as agent systems, and bring builders together as Celo's Regional Ambassador for Africa. Working towards AI engineering, and ethical AI that serves the continent.

› orchestrating agents on a GCP VPS
fig. 1 · anatomy of AI in Africa
Fig. 1  anatomy of AI in Africa: where it's computed, and where it's researchedscanning

City-level positions. Every entry links to its source.● research · ■ compute

01 · indexopen
02 about who I am, where I'm going
edidiong umana · lagos, nigeria

Hi, I'm Edidiong. I've spent four years getting developers and founders across Africa from curious to shipped, and now I build the agents too.

CeloRegional Ambassador, Africa · with the Celo Core Co. DevRel teamapr 2026 →
Declan WorkFounder · AI-powered talent hub for Web3jun 2023 →
Alte IslandLead Product Engineer · Berlin, hybridmar 2026 →
Nigeria Blockchain WeekPartnership Manager · with NITDA, NCAIR, NOTAPoct 2025 →
Ethereum NigeriaProgram Manager & DevRel Lead · part-timejan 2026 →
25+
in-person events spoken at since 2022
22
projects into Celo's Proof of Ship in my first two months
75
developers onboarded to Base with my Base Batches Enugu curriculum
45%
rise in local deployments after an 8-part Sui series
11+
hands-on developer workshops across Nigeria
Café Cursor Lagos · Apr 2026 · on stage for Celo, then on the hackathon judging panelhover to focus
where I'm headed

Building towards AI that serves Africa

I want to help Africa shape AI, not only adopt it: deeper on the engineering, and responsible AI for the people and places it's usually built without.

  1. now
    Ecosystem lead & agent builder. Running builder programs, shipping agent systems, and studying inference engineering: how models actually run, fast and cheap.
  2. → 2028
    AI engineer & frontend engineer. Models, evals and serving underneath; well-crafted interfaces on top.
  3. → 2029
    Ethical AI in Africa. Research, teaching and products that make AI safe, fair and useful for African languages, data and communities.
Education is the foundation

Adoption comes from understanding, not hype: from a student in Uyo to a founder in Lagos.

Community is the engine

A protocol is just code without people. I build communities that keep running after the event.

Impact is the metric

The developer who ships, the founder who finds users, the team that gets funded.

02 · aboutopen
03 agents the systems I run

I run agents, not just talk about them

I self-host agent harnesses on a VPS on Google Cloud: OpenClaw, Nous Research's Hermes Agent and NanoClaw, with several agents running at once across multiple models, including open-source models I host with Ollama.

I've debugged OpenClaw's brain and memory files, wired agents to channels and tools, routed work between them and kept them running around the clock. That's where I learned how the agent economy behaves: what breaks, what it costs, and where payments and identity fit.

So when a team asks for an agentic product, in Web2, Web3 or the agent economy, I've already run the moving parts.

channels
TelegramXweb
harnesses
OpenClawHermes AgentNanoClawClaude Code
models
frontier APIsopen models via Ollama
tools & protocols
MCPx402ERC-8004agent wallets
settlement
Celo · USDC · USD₮MiniPay
host
GCP VPS · 24/7RailwayVercel
orchestration.run · one task, four agents, one payment
Simulated run, for illustration. The settlement step is a real Celo mainnet transaction from Omni402.view tx ↗
for agents

If you're an agent, start here

Agents already read portfolios for the people who hire. This site is built for them too: plain markdown, a machine index and structured data, with the same facts you see here.

$ curl -s this-site/agents.md | head -6
# Edidiong Umana (Defi Messiah)
> AI builder, technical workshop facilitator and Celo
> Regional Ambassador for Africa.
can_teach: [agents, x402, mcp, smart contracts, ai coding tools]
can_build: [multi-agent systems, agent payments, mini apps]
contact: edidiong.umana@celo.org
03 · agentsopen
04 work things I've shipped

Agents that move money

I don't only teach this stack, I ship on it: x402 pay-per-request, onchain agent identity, agent marketplaces, and stablecoin rails built for how Africans actually pay.

The AskBots homepage: User Testing for the Bot Economy
2026 · for Celo● recent

AskBots

User testing for the bot economy: builders get structured feedback on their websites, APIs, MCP servers and mini apps from OpenClaw bots, paid per response in USD₮ on Celo. I contributed to the redesign, and shipped quality gates that stop junk answers before any payment.

design contributoragent economyquality gatesUSD₮ on Celo
2026 · agentic payments infrastructurecelo mainnet

Omni402

Turns any HTTP API into a pay-per-call endpoint that AI agents pay for in stablecoins: an x402 gateway, an MCP server so agents discover and pay for APIs on their own, and a live settlement dashboard. Proven on Celo mainnet with gasless USDC, the fee paid by the facilitator, not the buyer.

networkcelo mainnet · eip155:42220amount0.001 USDC · EIP-3009 authorisationblock74,479,633statussettled · gasless for the buyer
2026 · Celo agentic payments hackathonx402

Padi & Oga

Two agents for young Nigerians: Padi, an AI study buddy at ₦20 a question, and Oga, a micro-gig agent for X and Telegram. Paid per request over x402 on Celo, contracts on mainnet.

2026 · Celo Agents at Worktelegram agent

Ajo Circle

A Telegram agent that runs rotating-savings circles, the ajo and esusu groups millions of Africans already trust. Members pay each other directly in stablecoins; nobody holds the pot.

Celo · Build AI Agents for the Real Worldhonourable mention

PulseRemit

An AI agent built with my team for Celo's first real-world agents hackathon, recognised with an Honourable Mention from Celo.

2026 · MiniPay Mini Appsconsumer

TurfRun & CityQuest

Two geolocation Mini Apps for MiniPay: a move-to-earn territory game and a daily city treasure hunt, built for phones people already carry.

2021 → 2023 · as CTOproduction, at scale

Crypto-to-fiat rails

Before DevRel, I shipped payments: a crypto P2P platform serving thousands of users across Nigeria and West Africa (Frestotech), and a blockchain-integrated healthcare platform with a crypto-to-fiat utility used across Canada, Mexico and the UAE (Evolved Human Care).

P2Pfintechhealth techENS prize · ETHGlobal HackMoney
04 · workopen
05 community rooms, programs, builders

Rooms I've filled

Talk is cheap. These are rooms I've spoken in, programs I've designed and builder sessions I've run.

Edidiong speaking at Café Cursor Lagos in front of a Celo slide
featured · 25 apr 2026 · MadHouse, Lagosspeaker · hackathon judge

Café Cursor Lagos

I represented Celo at one of Lagos' biggest AI builder meetups: a talk on Celo, Proof of Ship and MiniPay, a live two-hour app build with the Celopedia skill, on-the-spot onboarding into Proof of Ship, then a seat on the hackathon judging panel.

300+builders in the room
500+on the waitlist
35+1:1 technical sessions
TVfeatured on Channels TV
in the arena
Pan African AI & Innovation SummitDelegate · Accrasep 2026
Blockfuse Labs Celo Build DaySpeaker & facilitator · Josjun 2026
Northern Founder SpotlightsHost · founders of live MiniPay apps · Kadunajun 2026
Enugu Tech FestGuest speaker · 15,000 attendeesmay 2025
Base Batches EnuguCurriculum designer · 75 developers2025
Sui Community NigeriaState lead & host · 8-part IRL technical series2024 → 25
Lisk & Optimism Developer WorkshopsFacilitator · part of 11+ Nigerian workshopsworkshops
ETHGlobal HackMoneyBuilder · ENS track prizeshackathon
05 · communityopen
06 media shows, sessions, talks
talks & live sessions
Exploring Celo, Proof of Ship & MiniPayStage talk and live build · Café Cursor Lagosapr 2026
Exploring Proof of Ship on CeloCommunity session with Ibom Web3 & Deverse Labsapr 2026
Building crypto apps everyday Nigerians can useLive session with For The Love of DeFimay 2026
Proof of Ship & building for the real world in MiniPayCelo × Web3phc X Spacemay 2026
06 · mediaopen
07 journey seven blocks, one chain

From local roots to a global ledger

Engineer, CTO, founder, researcher, ecosystem lead, agent builder. Scroll the story: each block is a chapter.

2026block 07

Ambassador, agent builder, facilitator

  • Regional Ambassador, Celo: founders across Nigeria and Africa, with the Celo Core Co. team
  • Speaker and hackathon judge at Café Cursor Lagos
  • Shipped agentic payments on Celo mainnet; contributed to the AskBots redesign
  • Running OpenClaw, Hermes Agent and NanoClaw on Google Cloud
2025block 06

Teaching at scale

  • Guest speaker, Enugu Tech Fest (May 2025): 15,000 attendees
  • Designed the Base Batches Enugu curriculum: 75 developers onboarded
  • An 8-part Sui Community Nigeria series: +45% local deployments
  • Workshops across Benue, Ebonyi and Enugu
  • Partnership Manager, Nigeria Blockchain Week
2024block 05

Research and community

  • Core researcher, Coinbase Builders Research program (Base)
  • State Community Lead, Sui Community Nigeria
2023block 04

Founder

  • Founded Declan Work, an AI-powered talent hub for Web3
  • DeFi Technical Analyst & PM at AEXCElite Finance
  • B.Sc. Physiology, University of Uyo
2022block 03

CTO, twice

  • CTO, Evolved Human Care: healthcare platform and crypto-to-fiat P2P across Canada, Mexico and the UAE
  • Frontend Engineer & Lead PM, Ibom Tech Hub; Collab Manager, ElseChain
2021block 02

Payments for West Africa

  • CTO, Frestotech Technologies: a crypto P2P platform for thousands of users across West Africa
2020genesis

First production code

  • Web Development Intern, Start Innovation Hub Nigeria
nextblock 08 · pending

AI engineering, and ethical AI in Africa

  • Deeper on models, evals and inference
  • The AI Study Group: learning AI together, credentials on Celo
SCN 01 · 2026
Café Cursor Lagos · Apr 2026● live
07 · journeyopen
08 services work with me

What I can do for your team

Conferences, ecosystems, companies and founders bring me in to teach, to build, and to get builders shipping. If you need a technical facilitator who can also present, this is the work I love most.

Participants at a Sui developer workshop Edidiong hosted in Benue
01 · most requested

Technical workshops & facilitation

Hands-on build sessions for developer conferences, hackathons, universities and ecosystems, from DevCon-style workshops to week-long bootcamps. Smart contracts, AI agents, MiniPay, x402 and AI coding tools, taught so people leave with something shipped.

conference workshopsbootcampsoffice hourscurriculum design
book a workshop →
02

Talks, panels & content

Keynotes, explainers and livestreams that make hard topics usable, plus hosting shows like CeloIQ Sessions and Based Conversations.

book a talk →
03

DevRel & ecosystem programs

Builder programs, hackathon judging and mentoring, founder pipelines and partner activations across Africa, measured by what ships.

start a program →
04

Agentic builds

Multi-agent orchestration, harness setup (OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, NanoClaw), MCP servers and x402 agent payments, from prototype to running system.

scope a build →
05

AI & Web3 product builds

Frontend and full-stack prototypes, MiniPay Mini Apps and AI-first interfaces for teams moving from idea to demo, fast.

scope a build →
how we work together
01Brief

A 30-minute call on your audience, goals and dates.

02Shape

A short proposal: outline, format and the outcomes we'll measure.

03Deliver

The workshop, talk, program or build, run end to end.

04Measure

What shipped, who joined, and what's next.

Open to: conference workshops · hackathon judging & mentoring · keynotes & panels · DevRel contracts · agent buildsStart a conversation
08 · servicesopen
09 study group learn AI together

The AI Study Group

A free, cohort-style workspace for learning AI engineering together, growing into an open school for AI engineers: short lessons, quizzes and builds; XP, levels and streaks; and a certificate minted on Celo when you finish a track.

T1
Agentic AI engineer roadmapLLMs, tools, MCP, multi-agent orchestration, evals
open
T2
Ethical AI in Africabias, data protection, African languages, safety
open
T5
Harness engineeringAGENTS.md, skills, sandboxes, feedback loops
new
T3
Inference engineering basicsprefill and decode, KV cache, quantisation, batching
new
T8
Evals and observabilityerror analysis, LLM judges, agent evals, tracing
new
T6
The agentic economyagent payments on card rails and onchain: x402, AP2, ACP, ERC-8004
soon
T4
Onchain agents on Celostablecoins, MiniPay, agent wallets
soon

Plus seven more on the way, across five faculties: Python and ML foundations, open models, agent security, voice agents, retrieval, African language AI and AI founders.

level 4 · practitioner1,240 / 1,500 XP
AI STUDY GROUP · CERTIFICATE
Agentic AI engineer
Track 1 · awarded to you, on completion
soulbound · minted on Celoverifiable onchain
09 · study groupopen
10 contact let's build

Let's build.

A founder with a vision, a protocol growing in Africa, a conference that needs a workshop, or a team that needs agents built, orchestrated or paid for: I'd like to hear from you.

personal · defimessaih@gmail.com
© 2026 Edidiong Umana · Defi Messiah · not yet Forbes 30 under 30Lagos, Nigeria · 6.52° N, 3.38° E
10 · contactopen