Unstoppable WoW3 to educate millions of women in Africa on web3 and the metaverse in five-year initiative.
The Unstoppable Women of Web3 (Unstoppable WoW3) education group is to bring free masterclasses, learning resources and in-person networking opportunities to Africa in a bid to welcome more women to emerging industries around the world.
This is being backed by the group’s partnerships with 26 companies including Polygon Labs, NFT Domains, African Leadership Group and Africa Women CEOs Network.
“We need to make sure everyone has a seat at the table,” comments the group’s founder, Sandy Carter.
She adds that “empowerment starts with education,” explaining that despite being one of the fastest developing web3 sectors, Africa is “not exempt from the gender equality issues we see across the globe.”
The group’s announcement of this commitment, which coincided with International Women’s Day on Tuesday, has instigated its first initiative to distribute free digital domains as a means to power ownership of identity throughout web3 and the metaverse.
These domains can be claimed for free for the next 30 days.
Subsequently to this, the partner organisations will offer web3 and metaverse education through their own resources. This includes web3 and metaverse masterclasses led by the African Leadership Group and the launch of Africa Women CEOs Network’s education programme for the female technology leaders of Africa.
Likewise, partner organisation Sankore 2.0, an Africa-focused blockchain community builder, will develop and organise online and physical courses on metaverse knowledge and blockchain code development for African women.
Unstoppable WoW3 is also introducing a blockchain education stream, in partnership with Alchemy, and a set of French and English blogs focused on digital identity on its website; among other initiatives from its partners.
The group will issue commemorative NFT-based education badges for applications who complete the programmes.
Leaders of the future
Today, Africa is one of the fastest-growing adopters of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and Web3 technology globally.
The continent already features the world’s second-largest bitcoin market and witnessed a 1,200 per cent increase in cryptocurrency payments between 2020 and 2021. There has also been significant progression in its development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), as evidenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria‘s (CBN) activities of 2021.
There is no doubt that Africa is exhibiting a massive and rapidly growing demand for nascent technology.
However, like many male-dominated tech and engineering sectors, web3 suffers from uneven representation. According to BCG X‘s study last month, only 13 per cent of founding teams in the web3 industry include women and only three per cent of companies work with a team that is exclusively female.
Considering the burgeoning nature of the web3 industry and the fact that women account for half of the African continent, Fred Swaniker, founder and CEO of African Leadership Group, says that “it is incredibly important to educate and empower our women with the tools they need to succeed in this field.”
“This partnership will champion not only diversity in web3 but also enable Africa to continue establishing itself as a global web3 hub,” adds Swaniker.
Dr Anino Emuwa, founder of Africa Women CEOs Network, said: “This initiative will give women in Africa a chance to participate in one of the fastest growing industries in the modern world.
“The tech and web3 industries have historically faced issues with diversity and a lack of representation, but with this new initiative, women in Africa can learn about a burgeoning industry and be part of building its future.
