Nairobi · UTC+3
Dan Baruka is a blockchain protocol engineer and the CTO and co-founder of Safrochain, a Cosmos SDK Layer 1 live on mainnet. He designed and launched the chain, and still runs its network, validators and ecosystem.
Blockchain engineer with 7 years in software development and 5 years in blockchain, including the design, launch and ongoing maintenance of a production Cosmos SDK Layer 1. As CTO and co-founder of Safrochain, I built the chain, its custom modules, its genesis and validator coordination, its indexer, explorer and multisig tooling, and I ship the core upgrades that keep it running. I also lead Zunia, a self-custody multi-chain Cosmos wallet covering 262 chains, and serve as a Developer Advocate at Intersect for the Cardano ecosystem. I work best in small, senior, remote teams that own a chain end to end.
- Based in
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Roots
- Goma, DR Congo
- Experience
- 7 years, 5 in blockchain
- Languages
- French, Swahili, English
(01) FAQ
Quick facts
Who is Dan Baruka?
Dan Baruka is a blockchain protocol engineer based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the CTO and co-founder of Safrochain, a Cosmos SDK Layer 1 live on mainnet since June 2026, and the founder of Zunia Lab, the team behind the Zunia multi-chain Cosmos wallet. He studied computer science in Goma, DR Congo, where he co-founded the Uptodate Developers studio.
What is Safrochain?
Safrochain is a community-first Layer 1 blockchain built with the Cosmos SDK, CometBFT, IBC and CosmWasm. Its mainnet (chain ID safrochain-1) launched on June 25, 2026 and its native token is SAF. Dan Baruka co-founded it, architected it, and still maintains the network, its validators and its ecosystem.
What technologies does Dan Baruka work with?
Go and the Cosmos SDK first: custom modules, upgrades, genesis and validator operations, IBC and CosmWasm (Rust). He also builds wallets and signing flows (CosmJS, Ledger, WalletConnect), indexers and explorers, and has hands-on Cardano experience (Plutus, Haskell).
Is Dan Baruka available for work?
Yes. He is open to senior protocol engineering roles and consulting in the Cosmos ecosystem, working remotely from Nairobi (UTC+3). The fastest way to reach him is the contact form or WhatsApp.
(02) Career
The path
- 2025 – Present
CTO & Co-founder, Safrochain
Community-first Cosmos SDK Layer 1 built for African and global builders. Native token SAF, chain ID safrochain-1, mainnet live since June 2026, Apache 2.0.
- 2025 – Present
Founder & Lead Engineer, Zunia Lab
Self-custody multi-chain wallet for the Cosmos ecosystem. Browser extension and mobile app on the same keys, IBC-native, Apache 2.0, 1.0 release candidate.
- 2024 – Present
Co-founder, Dyma
Task-to-earn application for the Cosmos ecosystem with an on-chain reputation system.
- 2025 – 2026
Developer Advocate, Cohort 2, Intersect (Cardano)
Selected for Cohort 2 of the Intersect Developer Advocate Program, run by the Open Source Office.
- 2025 – Present
Community Maintainer, Intersect Maintainer Retainer Program
- 2019 – Present
Co-founder & Project Manager, Uptodate Developers
Software studio and developer community.
Education
2020
Licence (five-year programme, Bac+5) in Computer Science and Management
Institut Supérieur de l’Informatique et de Gestion (ISIG), Goma, DR Congo
Thesis: AI-powered recommendation system for supermarket sales prediction.
2018
Graduat (three-year degree) in Computer Science and Management
ISIG, Goma, DR Congo
Certifications
2022
Cardano Blockchain Certified Associate (CBCA)
Cardano Foundation
Languages
- FrenchNative
- SwahiliNative
- EnglishProfessional working proficiency
- 2025–2026Developer Advocate, Intersect (Cardano)Cohort 2 of the Developer Advocate Program
- 2025Maintainer, IntersectMBO/developer-experienceMaintainer Retainer Program, top contributor
- 2026Mentor and speaker, Cardano Africa Tech SummitCATS 2026
- 2024Host, Cardano Summit community eventGoma, DR Congo
- 2023Guest speaker, Cardano Summit masterclassDubai: “Decentralized exchanges in Africa” (100+ attendees)
- 2019–Co-founder, Dev CommunityDeveloper platform, 2,000+ members; 15+ juniors mentored
Open-source contributions
- cosmos/chain-registry
- chainapsis/keplr-chain-registry
- CosmosLabsKR/chainlist
- ping-pub/mainnet
- IntersectMBO/developer-experience
- IntersectMBO/evolution-sdk
- IntersectMBO/cardano-ledger
- cardano-foundation/cardano-token-registry
- Public repositories
- 135
- Merged pull requests
- 150+
(04) Press kit
Press kit and downloads
Everything you need for a talk, an article or an introduction.
Short bio
Dan Baruka is a blockchain protocol engineer and the CTO and co-founder of Safrochain, a Cosmos SDK Layer 1 live on mainnet. He designed and launched the chain, and still runs its network, validators and ecosystem.
Hiring for a protocol role, launching a chain, or need a hand with validators and upgrades? Tell me about it.