For a long time, African women striving to get into the Web3 space have encountered a seemingly unending series of gridlocks just as they did when venturing into Web2.

Lack of sufficient financial resources, their exclusion from key tech decision-making processes, and hurdles in accessing the right tech networks, have been bottlenecks that they encounter in their attempt to contribute to the growth of the continent’s Web3 industry.

Julie Obaso, the founder of Blu3 Africa and Head of Marketing at Web3 startup, Blu3 DAO, also called Blu3 Global, tells Nodo News that it generally has been an uphill task for women trying to break into the tech space largely dominated by men. But in recent years, women have been breaking the glass ceiling, and taking up leading roles in Africa’s tech ecosystem.

Obaso, who holds a degree in business, and a masters in creative writing, has worked in banking, as an editor in the publishing industry, and also as an e-commerce entrepreneur with her own digital stores. She ventured into tech in 2017 when she developed her first mobile application, an emoji app. More recently, Obaso has been working on two small startups, and been heavily involved in the DAO and Web3 industry.

Started in November 2022, Blu3 Africa is the African Web3 initiative arm of the US-based Blu3 Global, which strives to achieve justice and equity for women in tech, especially in the Web3 and blockchain ecosystems. One of the ways Blu3 Global achieves this is by launching diverse Web3 project teams around the globe.

Empowering Women to Climb Web3 Ladder

(Team Blu3 Africa at a past event in Nairobi / Photo by Blu3 Africa)

The mission of Blu3 Africa, according to Obaso, is to encourage African women to play a part in and achieve their financial freedom in Web3 and blockchain technologies.

“We empower women to attain their financial freedom through learning, exploring and building their careers in Web3,” Obaso, an NFT enthusiast, says. “We onboard, educate and give the women we work with an opportunity to learn both technical and non-technical pathways to successful blockchain and Web3 careers. Women should be intentional about what they wish to achieve career-wise. We help them with that.”

Blu3 Africa, she says, educates women about coding in blockchain programming languages such as Solidity, and sponsors them to global tech events such as hackathons. It provides scholarship opportunities, as well as getting learners access to hands-on workshops led by industry experts.

It also collaborates with female coders to ensure that they nurture their programming and web development skills into successful careers in tech and Web3. Blu3 Africa told Nodo News that the first cohort of its Solidity developers graduated in March 2023.

Taking Its US Success to Africa

“In 2022, Blu3 DAO sponsored and onboarded well over 200 women to 7 major ETHGlobal events, with a 97% hackathon win rate. We want to achieve similar results in Africa as those that we have achieved in the US. Blu3 Africa intends to onboard at least 200 Kenyan women into Web3 by the end of 2023,” she says. “We want to spread the adoption of Web3 technologies not just in Kenya but across Africa in general.”

To attain this feat, Blu3 Africa identifies women who are enthusiastic about Web3 and those already in the tech space. The company also welcomes women keen on getting opportunities for advancement and learning something new in the tech ecosystem.

Blu3 Africa is fast-tracking this adoption process by hosting their popular, live interactive Solidity workshops, as well as partnering with local communities that support women in tech. One recent example of this strategy was its hugely successful International Women’s Day partnership with WomenTechmakers in Nairobi.

Says Obaso: “We were able to present various options to a roomful of very interested and enthusiastic young women in tech, and give them a glimpse of how bright the future could be. We had a lot of sign ups and people joining.”

These are some of the demographics that Obaso and her team work with in the program by training them on all the basics as well as the in-depth intricacies of Web3 and related technologies.

In addition to their current programming, the Blu3 Africa initiative plans to support their trainees in becoming proficient in running businesses and startups in tech, soon after the completion of their training. This remains its long-term goal, according to Obaso.

Crypto adoption in Africa, especially the sub-Saharan Africa region has continued to grow in the past years, particularly in the finance and remittance sectors, according to a 2022 report by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.

How Can More Women Trade Crypto?

Globally, more males (63%) than females (37%) own cryptos, according to data from crypto payment platform TripleA, highlighting a stark disparity between the genders and the disenfranchisement of women in blockchain technologies. As part of their programming package, and in the near future, Blu3 Africa may consider partnering with a licensed professional or banking entity to offer crypto trading and business financial advice to its women trainees.

Obaso says the startup’s agenda this year is to train newbie individuals on the basics such as how to install and use crypto wallets, become accustomed to performing basic crypto transactions such as minting NFT’s, and familiarizing themselves with the different cryptocurrencies available, as well as their native protocols and building frameworks.

“We just want those we work with in the Blu3 Africa initiative to understand these topics. Later we teach them how to code in Solidity up to the intermediate level, where they learn to write a smart contract and deploy their own dAPP. This in turn will help them access the different career avenues that exist in Web3,” Obaso explains. “The average salary for a blockchain developer is upwards of $80-$90K per year. The demand for developers is high because it’s a high- level skill set. I think that’s also a high-level motivator a for any young woman starting out her career, or someone who wants to pivot from another career into web3.”

The organization also holds real life events for trainees to network and build the community, as well as offers the exclusive Blu3 Africa Membership Program, where members gain access to exclusive events, specialized resources, trips, sponsorships and networking opportunities. The memberships also allow for one-on-one mentorship and support from the Blu3 DAO team.

More Women Are Now Interested in Web3

African women have largely lagged behind when it comes to venturing into the tech space because they have traditionally been viewed as being dependent on their spouses. Males, in African contexts, tend to be much more relied upon to accomplish more ‘complex’ feats like technology.

However, this shouldn’t be the case any more because there are more women than men in the world.

“There is a high level of interest in women towards Web3 and other novel technologies because they are becoming self aware and hence they are pushing for their own economic independence. There’s also the realization by women that they are quite capable in traditionally male dominated careers that pay well,” Obaso tells Nodo News.

She intimates that women in Africa have always had enterprising minds. Web3 is another avenue through which these women can push for, and attain financial independence.

She notes: “There is a good number of men who have acknowledged that it works better for everybody when women are included in tech and given more opportunities to grow. We are very fortunate to have as our coding coach a young blockchain developer named Yash. Yash is an amazing teacher and very generous with his knowledge, so we appreciate him.”

Obaso, herself a web3 educator and blockchain enthusiast, says tech career paths are not easy for anyone, and Blu3 Africa recognizes that women are underrepresented in this space. “We are going to shift that narrative by providing opportunities for young African women to have more seats at the web3 tech table.”