In a strategic move to promote technological empowerment and financial inclusion, Yellow Card, the Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange and financial technology firm, has joined hands with the Web3Ladies mentorship program. Through a generous $3,000 grant, Yellow Card aims to empower more than 500 Nigerian women by equipping them with essential tech and blockchain skills.
Yellow Card’s Initiative for Social Good
This collaborative endeavor aligns with Yellow Card’s YC Social Good, which represents the company’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative. The overarching goal is to foster financial independence and ensure that access to technology resources is extended to individuals across the African continent.
Web3Ladies Mentorship Program
The Web3Ladies mentorship program stands as a three-month intensive boot camp specifically tailored to train proficient designers, engineers, and managers for the blockchain industry. Simultaneously, it provides participants with the critical tools and technological resources required for success beyond the training period.
Closing Gender Disparities
Yellow Card’s choice to partner with Web3Ladies, an organization with a focus on women, is a strategic response to the significant challenges faced by young Africans, particularly females. It is noteworthy that Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to require digital skills for approximately 230 million jobs by 2030. Unfortunately, only 30% of women receive STEM training, with even fewer girls possessing essential digital skills for the contemporary workforce in the region.
Addressing this substantial gender gap, Yellow Card, through its YC Social Good Initiative, aspires to bridge the divide. Their objective is to empower young talents in Africa with the requisite skills needed to shape the continent’s future.
Jason Marshall, Chief Operating Officer of Yellow Card, articulated the company’s commitment to transformative initiatives. He emphasized the need to address the existing barriers faced by women and girls in the realm of technology and digital literacy education. The $3,000 grant extended to Web3Ladies is a tangible step towards this vision of inclusion and financial freedom across the continent.
Overcoming Gender Disparities in Tech
Nigeria, a country with a robust entrepreneurial spirit, faces its own set of challenges. A mere 15% of tech startup co-founders in Nigeria are women. A 2018 study by LongHash highlighted that among 100 surveyed blockchain startups, only 14.5% of employees were female.
The digital landscape, while promising and dynamic, suffers from a glaring lack of gender inclusivity. Yellow Card’s collaboration with Web3Ladies signifies a meaningful contribution toward empowering more women in the tech industry. They see this as an investment that will yield positive outcomes for the African economy in the foreseeable future.
Web3Ladies’ Perspective
Nkechi Enebeli, Associate Program Manager for Web3Ladies, expressed her admiration for Yellow Card’s dedication to corporate social responsibility. She underscored that Yellow Card’s partnership underscores the belief that empowering women in tech transcends mere equality; it’s an investment in the future.
Enebeli emphasized that this partnership transcends mere financial support; it symbolizes the power of collaboration. She conveyed her profound gratitude to Yellow Card for recognizing Web3Ladies’ mission and extending a helping hand toward fostering a more equitable tech ecosystem.
The Web3Ladies mentorship program is structured across four distinct phases, spanning a duration of three months. During the program, mentees engage in live classes and weekly workshops, guided by experienced on-site mentors. The workshops delve into in-depth discussions of specific blockchain topics, led by industry experts and seasoned professionals.
The program boasts over 500 registered mentees, with an acceptance of over 200 applicants for the current cohort. There are plans to provide essential work tools, including laptops, inverters, and MiFis, to the graduates upon successful completion of the program.
Yellow Card’s Commitment to Social Good
Since its inception in Nigeria in 2019, Yellow Card has actively contributed significant funding to sponsor various projects and initiatives. Their support extends beyond Nigeria’s borders and encompasses initiatives across the continent. These initiatives include backing Generation Empower (GenEm) in Tanzania, a mission aimed at educating and empowering the youth, as well as providing a $5,000 grant to the Purple Skills Klinic Foundation, which seeks to empower young people in Uganda.
As the largest cryptocurrency exchange on the African continent, Yellow Card operates in over 17 countries. It offers an array of financial services, including a crypto exchange, streamlined cross-border payments facilitated by cryptocurrency, and an API suite designed to facilitate on-and-off ramping for entities across Africa and beyond.
Notably, in 2022, the company successfully raised $40 million in its Series B fundraising round, amassing a total of over $50 million in capital. This achievement solidifies Yellow Card’s position as the African cryptocurrency company that has secured the most substantial funding to date.