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It is encouraging that Female cryptocurrency investors are on the rise, The participation of women in the field of blockchain technology is still very low.
Recently in a report The World Economic Forum report shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced gender parity for an entire generation. Vesselina Ratcheva, Head of New Economy and Society at the World Economic Forum, further told Cointelegraph, Women are indeed still a minority in the blockchain industry.
Fund raising for women-led blockchain projects
Fortunately, many new funding programs are provided to promote women’s participation in the blockchain field.This is especially important because recent discoveries show In the third quarter of last year, venture capital investment in female founders reached the lowest quarterly total in three years.
To address this ongoing challenge, the decentralized financial protocol Sperax has partnered with leading blockchain companies to provide grants for women-led projects.
Frida Cai, a partner of Sperax, told Cointelegraph that Sperax’s “Upgrading Grant Series” is a one-year work aimed at supporting women in the blockchain field. Cai explained that the program runs quarterly and consists of four phases, each of which focuses on a specific blockchain use case:
“As a woman in the blockchain industry, I want to help more women participate. The grant series exists because more audiences should listen to women’s views.”
Sperax business development director Alec Shaw told Cointelegraph that 116 applicants from seven countries applied for the first phase of Lifted, which was sponsored by the investment company Polyient Capital. Three innovative projects in the areas of DeFi and NFT have received up to $15,000 in funding.
Renita Murimi is the founder and CEO of WildChain, the NFT’s zoo and shelter market, which aims to buy, sell and trade animals for conservation purposes and was selected as the first The winner of the stage. Murimi told Cointelegraph that opportunities such as Lifted are important steps in bringing women into the blockchain space:
“The biggest challenge is the availability of funds. Therefore, I am especially grateful for the “upgrade” grant. The entire Sperax team has provided very useful guidance and funding sources for women in the blockchain.”
Blockchain company wants to fund female-led startups
Although Murimi speaks from experience, the World Economic Forum also Established In terms of entrepreneurship, the gender financing gap is one of the most persistent issues. Therefore, it is encouraging that specific blockchain companies are now looking for female-led teams for capital allocation. Eric Kapfhammer, chief operating officer and principal of Polyient Capital, told Cointelegraph:
“When we look at the entire blockchain industry, it’s surprising that the gender gap is so large, especially in engineering and product management positions. As successful participants in the broader ecosystem, we want to do everything It’s our own power to help provide opportunities and support to help solve this problem.”
In addition to Polyient Capital, Oasis Network (a privacy-focused blockchain for DeFi projects) will also Sponsor the second phase of the “Cancel Grant” series. Jorge Cueto, product manager and developer relations of the Oasis Foundation, told Cointelegraph that it will provide up to $50,000 in grants for projects that start stablecoins on the Oasis network. According to Cueto, Oasis focuses on supporting projects led by women:
“We believe that cultivating a more diverse and inclusive blockchain industry will lead to more innovation and growth in the entire industry as a whole. Both the Oasis and Sperax teams are proud of women, and we share the responsibility of empowering the blockchain industry. The common mission of women’s power.”
Cueto pointed out that the Sperax funding program will eventually encourage more women to enter the blockchain field because it sends a clear message that dedicated resources have been allocated to support women.
Strongly encourage men and women to cooperate
It must also be noted that the cooperation between men and women is encouraged through grant programs for companies headed by women.
For example, although women must be led to participate in Sperax’s grant series, Cai mentioned the importance of men participating in these teams. She said: “So far, all the applications we have received are from women, but we also encourage men to participate.”
recent data This is further confirmed and pointed out that since 2017, the funds of companies co-invested by male and female co-founders have consistently exceeded US$20 billion per year. The research results also show that starting from 2017, only 6% of venture capital has only set up companies for women, while 13% have been allocated to teams co-founded by men and women.
Education is needed to promote women’s participation in blockchain
In addition to providing opportunities for female-led teams, educational initiatives are also provided to bring women into the blockchain field.
For example, SheFi, a decentralized financial education program for women, is currently accepting applications for its 2021 winter cohort program. Maggie Love, the founder of SheFi, told Cointelegraph that through these monthly free plans, many women will learn about DeFi projects and the concept of how to use different DeFi apps.
Such procedures are crucial, especially when using DeFi. data Researchers from CoinGecko recently discovered that DeFi users are mainly men, and more than half of them are between 20 and 40 years old.
Love said that the financial knowledge gap must be narrowed to allow more women to participate in DeFi. She further shared that DeFi achieved financial freedom and initially attracted her to enter the industry:
“In fact, I don’t have to be affiliated with Wall Street to accumulate and accumulate wealth. This inspired me and I started to learn different projects. However, although the innovation of DeFi has made it very exciting to be part of the crypto field, it still There is a lack of women participating in DeFi and benefiting from it.
Although this is currently the case, it’s important to remember DeFi is still a niche industry. Therefore, it is great to see women have the opportunity at this early stage.
Love further pointed out: “The number of women engaged in encryption and DeFi technology is increasing, and the number of women using encryption and DeFi technology is also increasing. It is great to see that many teams are committed to getting more women into this field. .”
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