Life has a way of unexpectedly bringing people together, and I've found this truism is never more applicable than when discussing Bitcoin.

One night in May of 2014, I was up late browsing the internet (as per usual), when I chanced upon a YouTube video of a Bitcoin meet up in Botswana. My curiosity piqued, I put a pause on my tabbed mania and proceeded to watch as the group's organizer, Alakanani Itireleng, led a discussion and lesson on the how-tos and whose whos of my favorite technology. Needless to say, I was impressed. The attendees were attentive and Alakanani's grace in her explanations and demonstrations were refreshing for a subject matter that can quickly get technical and beyond the reach of most people. I went to sleep that night thinking that Botswana might just be a perfect proving ground for the Bitcoin technology, and that I needed to help.

Fast forward some months and we are on the cusp of bringing one of our machines to Botsawna. I've teamed up with Ms. Itireleng and donated one of our machines to Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana. The machine will be operated by Ms. Itireleng's company, SatoshiCenter Pty Ltd, but all members of the Bitcoin community will be able to participate in the project.

Bitswana.com will soon be launched as a place to monitor our progress, and even crowdfund the ATM with Bitcoins and other crypto-currencies..

But, we need your help, Bitcoin community.

We're so close. The machine is built and ready. Logistics have been figured out. And, just as the excitement of technological progress promises to bring new innovation to the Tswana people, the antiquities of the old system have reared their head.

In short, we have been unable to obtain Pula to test our machine's bill acceptor and cash dispensing system with. After using Western Union (at a 13% fee) to transfer USD to Ms. Itireleng to convert into Pula to send back to us for testing, Alakanani has been unable to send us the Pula notes as the postal couriers have refused her package due to export laws. After contacting both the US Embassy in Botswana and the Botswana Embassy in Washington, DC, options for obtaining the Pula are dwindling.

As I see it, we only have 3 options left:

1. Travel to Botswana and pick up the notes in person (inefficient and costly)



2. Find someone in South Africa who can travel to Gaborone, pick up the notes we have readied, and mail them to us from South Africa (ideal scenario)



3. Try to purchase the Pula on eBay (extremely high markup, no guarantee of authenticity, most notes are "specimen" for collectors)

While our machines are technically capable and should have no problems handling the Pula currency, when it comes to shipping 400 pounds of metal half-way across the planet, we don't like to leave anything to chance.

If you are located in South Africa and don't mind traveling to Gaborone to pick up the notes from Ms. Itireleng, or think you may be able to help us to procure some Pula in some other fashion, don't hesitate to contact me at Evan@Genesis1.com. I'm excited to move forward and am eager to update you all on our progress.

Evan Rose

President & CEO

Genesis Coin Inc.