By Daisy Atuchukwu, Corporate Communications Assistant, Yellow Card.
The technology and finance industries have seen female leaders in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in East Africa find their way into crypto finance positions. This is as women in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Tanzania are rising to positions of power and influence and becoming crypto trailblazers in the eastern African region.
A 2017 study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology reported that 26% of computing-related jobs are held by women. This comes as more women gain opportunities and skills, driving them into the tech space in droves after men dominated all senior and c-suite tech roles in the region for a long time.
According to UNDP, in 2019, women made up 30% of people in tech in sub-Saharan Africa, a remarkable development that Sharon Tum, the East African operations manager of Yellow Card, a Pan-African cryptocurrency leader, credits to “intentional actions and years of grooming women through tech revolutions like; “women in tech”; “girls in tech”; “Educate the girl child movement etc.”
In addition to praising the community, government, and women who have worked to advance this cause, Sharon urged women to take the lead and seize the opportunities that have been presented to them. Due to the equal opportunities that have been provided to women in Africa, she thinks that the future of women in technology is bright.
She said, “The East African woman today is exposed to more technical knowledge than ever before.” More women have mobile phones and are financially literate, and culture is changing every day. This makes crypto adoption easy. ” Companies like Yellow Card are at the forefront of ensuring inclusion and diversity. ” Women must be part of the crypto conversation today! “
While highlighting the issues that have dampened the adoption of crypto by women in east Africa, the regional manager for the pan-African cryptocurrency leader, Yellowcard, stated that misinformation and myths that cryptocurrency is illegal are some of the biggest problems. She noted that “knowledge is power” and the importance of giving a better understanding of cryptocurrency concepts and how they work and how they can benefit. “Once a woman understands how something benefits her and her community, adoption is easy.”
Consequently, women who are already active users and beneficiaries of crypto, in one form or another, need to do the hard work of educating and bringing more women into the fold.
However, since it is widely accepted that women are risk-averse, it is easy to assume that they are not at all interested in learning about or using cryptocurrencies. As a result of African men’s propensity for taking calculated risks, according to Edline Murungi, Yellow Card’s legal representative in East Africa, East African women believe that cryptocurrency trading is typically a platform for only men due to its high level of risk. She then emphasized how important it is for women to ensure that there is a gender balance in the cryptocurrency industry.
She states, “Due to the patriarchal nature of East African society, men are usually first in anything… Everything is usually associated with men, and because crypto is a new market, the men did it first… however it is not complicated…. it’s a matter of interest in whatever sector you want to work in, whether it’s trading, legal, or regulatory etc, it’s open to everyone”
Meanwhile, Edline is optimistic that there will be a rise in the proportion of women working in the cryptocurrency industry because of a significant push factor, which she refers to as “regulatory factors.”
She emphasized that it is very likely that companies will employ female managers because society is realizing that women can be trusted with financial matters and because blockchain industries will be subject to the regulatory environment. She continued, “We’ll see more women in positions of power once the market becomes more regularized, prim and proper.”
While discussing the need for regulations to help stabilize the infamously unstable cryptocurrency market and level the playing field. The corporate-commercial law specialist suggested that East Africa adopt three crucial regulatory provisions from its sister nations to promote the use of cryptocurrencies.
According to Edline, the government of East Africa needs to establish appropriate policies or regulations to provide direction to those operating in the cryptocurrency industry. Aside from that, she added that the current fintech laws ought to be changed to include cryptocurrencies, e-money, and crypto firms as regulatory bodies in the fintech industry.
While discussing regulation, Edline emphasized the requirement for cryptocurrency-specific legislation, saying, “They could be called virtual asset laws or blockchain laws, either at the central bank or the capital market.”
In separate interviews, Edline and Sharon spoke about the organization’s mission: to educate and empower women in the East African blockchain ecosystem. Additionally, Edline explains how Yellow Card Financial is expanding opportunities for women in Africa by hiring more women from across 16 different African nations, having more women in managerial roles, giving them stock options, and planning several events aimed at educating East African women about the advantages of cryptocurrency and the value of financial independence.
Finally, Yellow Card has demonstrated its importance in closing the gender gap by organizing several events that aim to give women a place to learn about and explore the potential of cryptocurrency. The first event, “Women in Crypto,” was a virtual awareness-raising campaign on August 24th that featured female executives from across Africa educating women on the significance of setting themselves up for financial independence in the digital age.
Yellow Card Academy is another initiative of Yellow Card for women to learn about crypto, blockchain and other financial topics. Take up the challenge and join the Yellow Card Academy today, where Yellow Card teaches women how to trade and join a life-changing adventure to financial freedom.
