International Women’s Day 2023: Women in Crypto

We are here for International Women's Day, which does have the word international in the name. So I think it's important to get perspectives from outside of the United States. And so I'm very happy to have joining us um perspectives from two very important regions for the Cryptocurrency world. One is Nigeria and the other is Turkey joining us now to discuss, this is woman DFI brand strategist, um Mary Jane and mini co founder, CEO and um welcome to the show. Uh So, so glad to have you both here. So let's just start with um you know, we've talked a little bit about International Women's Day on the show earlier, but you both bring very unique perspectives. Um OK, let's just start with you if you could just talk a little bit about Nigeria specifically, what are some of the challenges that women in web three face there that might be slightly different um from other parts of the world if, if there are different challenges. OK. Um First off, we need to come to the fact that Nigeria is seen as the rural parts. All right, in the entire world, we are seen as the third developing countries in the rural world and giving women. All right, let's talk about women challenges, giving women the opportunity to become more, giving women the opportunity that they can actually be more in the technology space down to the Blockchain, down to the three space is more because most times you see that the tech space, the block chaa space, the crypto space are more, all right, are dominated by male. Now, we have been like groups of women actually achieving more, becoming founders, becoming innovators, becoming top voices, key opinion leaders for top companies and also doing more with the crypto space is like for a space here in Iger because we are we as women are really, we like see Magin, all right, we are really really marginalized and to see women group of women supporting each other to be more, it's it's it's quite large here over here in Nigeria. Thank you so much Chala. How about you? Um You know, you've written about the challenges of women and gender kind of all over the world. But if you could just tell us a little bit about Turkey specifically. Uh Thank you, Emily. Er I'm I'm so happy to be joining your program today and I would like to uh start by conveying my condolences. You know, we had a devastating earthquake in Turkey and we all decided to dedicate this year. The World Women's Day for the women out there at the earthquake area and regarding the Cryptocurrency landscape here in Turkey focusing on women. We are still having challenges, you know, since more than five years, I am quite active within the ecosystem and it's been four years since we have established the Istanbul Blockchain Association and have been uh working hard uh on educating more women to get involved in this space and have uh you know, uh reputable employment, things like that. But still we are facing challenges in brief as women in Turkey. Mhm What ways do you see crypto Blockchain technology, web, three technology, helping women uh in challenges in business and in tech, et cetera. Uh um Where do you see that headed in Nigeria? OK. One thing I'm sure is Blockchain, give voices to the unseen Blockchain, give you a face and in Nigeria, right? Blockchain is the face that the youth don't have. Blockchain is the face that women in Nigeria don't actually have on the landscape. And most of the women that we are seeing doing so much, most of the women that we are seeing actually on the landscape of international brands are actually due to Blockchain technology think tank. We three crypto and all these things I may be or what Blockchain has given us opportunities. Blockchain has shown us that we can be more, all right, we can be financially free, we can be more with the use and opportunities of Blockchain technology application. All right. And one thing that I always believe which is actually the goal of human five in Nigeria. Women in D I is the largest crypto community, women, crypto community here in Nigeria. And what we do is to empower women, not just empowering women by the use of trading. Just crypto trading just defy. It's beyond that right, Blockchain technology defy its application is beyond just trading crypto. We understand that and that is why we are actually teaching every lady to be equipped with queues. All right, develop yourself first, not just by trading crypto, develop yourself to have um will like say upgraded skills, skills to be able to participate, to be able to contribute in the business landscape in the Blockchain space. So not just being a crypto trader, not just being um a buyer, a seller of coins, um a reseller, a P to P person, you can actually be um a pop voice, a Blockchain carrier, be Blockchain career. And that is what we preach here in women in five, not just teaching our women to be traders, which obviously we understand is actually part of actually being becoming financially free, but also teaching them to upgrade their skills of skilling them with skills, to be able to present and to be able to present themselves in the last scale of team in the Blockchain space as business. Yeah, thank you so much. I just want to turn to you for something a little bit different. You mentioned the earthquake early on I think this is a very, very important story that needs to get more attention. And what's particularly interesting is the role of crypto donations in Turkey, which I feel like is kind of maybe people don't know about as much as they should. Can you just tell us a little bit about how that's been going and just the status of that campaign? Well, we took the risk. It was a bit risky, you know, because we have a soft regulation here in Turkey, which is restricting the usage of cryptocurrencies, including the, you know, uh global transactions, things like that, not the trade. So during the first week of the earthquake, we were like the damage was bigger than we were thinking even you all saw from the television. So we decided to form a group. I was within that group and we opened up Cryptocurrency wallets for the most reputable NGO in Turkey. So, and we announced to our networks to uh bring donations over crypto to our country and it worked. And uh during this opening the wallets uh period, uh we verbally ask the government to let us have those wallets open for one week only to bring in an easier way, global donations and it was successful. This looks like didn't change anything. I mean, the way the government thinks about the regulation, it really worked and it's, you know, more than 6.5 $million billion were collected over the crypto donations, but it was risky, but we did it and that might be a use case for our country. Once the government will sit on by revising the regulation, everything was pure, simple and very well managed. After the one week was completed, we transacted all the currencies to us dollars and then to Turkish lira and collected them in a bank and each and every payment over this money, the collected crypto donations is being uh you know, uh shown and documenting them all to show them to the government and all the money is spent for, you know, helping the region for the earth. Oh, I think uh is just cutting out right there. But interesting, especially considering the Turkish government has been skeptical of Cryptocurrency transactions in the country. So they're clearly seeing a good use case here. Uh We gotta wrap it there unfortunately, but Chala and um thank you so much for joining us. That was Mina Pay co-founder and Ceo Chala. She as well as women and D five brand strategist. Um Mary Jane.