A recognized pioneer in African blockchain, he brings years of experience to the field. He has collaborated with numerous public and private sector organizations and successfully founded several startups throughout his career.

Lorien Gamaroff (photo) is a South African computer scientist and co-founder, as well as the CEO, of CentBee, a company specializing in cryptocurrency payments.

Founded in 2017, CentBee offers an innovative platform that merges social networking with digital money management, simplifying everyday transactions. Built on blockchain technology, the platform allows users to make payments with brands and stores worldwide. It also enables secure and straightforward storage, sending, and receiving of digital money.

“A lot of people think that Centbee is a crypto wallet but we are not a crypto wallet. We don’t support multiple cryptos, we don’t have charts, we don’t allow users to trade or anything like that. It does fit solidly in the mobile money category which is how a lot of emerging economies work these days,” said Gamaroff in 2024.

In addition to his role at CentBee, Gamaroff serves on the advisory board of the African Utility Week Conference, a three-day trade show and conference bringing together professionals from Africa’s electricity, energy, and water sectors. He is also an ambassador for the Bitcoin Association in Africa.

Before founding CentBee, Gamaroff co-founded LiveBet in 1999, an online sports betting platform where he served as Chief Technology Officer until 2002. In 2014, he founded Bankymoon, a trailblazing company in blockchain applications. The following year, he co-founded Blockchain Academy, serving as Training Director.

Gamaroff holds a degree in computer science and music from Rhodes University (1997) and a software engineering degree from the University of South Africa (2008). His professional journey began in 1998 at Grey Group, a global advertising agency, where he worked as a creative director. He later held Chief Technology Officer roles at various firms, including Professional Development Institute, a software publisher, and Invirohub, a company specializing in smart metering and monitoring solutions for public, private, and residential sectors.

By Melchior Koba,

Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji