Ahead of International Women’s Day, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is renewing its commitment to increase the number of women active and employed in Web3. Through women-focused education and mentorship initiatives, Binance to date has invested more than $2 million to support women in more than 10 countries (including South Africa, Kenya & Nigeria) around the world and will increase those efforts in the year ahead.
Binance Charity donated $2 million to fund over 36,000 dedicated Web3 scholarships for women in 2022, and will continue funding courses, programs and scholarships in 2023 with a focus on women and underrepresented communities. With women comprising only 37% of crypto owners, education is key to empowering more women to join the industry.
The 2022 scholarships to study blockchain and crypto-related courses at universities, schools and nonprofits were awarded to women in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, France, Australia, Germany, and Ukraine. In honour of International Women’s Day, Binance Charity will also make an additional donation of $100,000 to Georgia’s Innovation & Technology Agency (GITA) to support web3 education and training for women. Binance Academy will provide educational content for GITA web3 courses.
Binance was co-founded in 2017 by Yi He, making the company one of the few female-founder crypto companies in the world. Less than 5% of crypto founders at top crypto companies are women. As of 2022, the number of female-founded cryptocurrency companies was approximately 292, out of more than 10,000 companies.
To further address the gender gap, Binance offers various early career programmes, such as Binance Accelerator Program, and undergraduate internships which offer more access to careers in crypto for diverse talent. The company also offers guidance and career advice to women through female mentorship programs, talent workshops, educational courses, and lectures to share industry experience and insights on how to break into a career in Web3.
As one of the few female leaders in the industry, I believe that we have a mission, through Binance Charity and Binance Academy, to help more women understand web3 and blockchain technology — our education and internship programs aim to empower young women with knowledge and skills ready for industry disruption. We believe that anyone with ideas can change the world, regardless of gender. We hope these commitments will result in more women on the front line of innovation and bring change to our industry.
Yi He, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Binance
