Reposted and adapted from UNDP Kyrgyzstan.
Gender stereotypes and cultural norms often hinder women’s and girls’ access to digital technologies and reduce their employment opportunities in the ICT sector. Women are more subject to family restrictions due to existing social norms – and thus are excluded from the digital transition process. Unfortunately, access, ownership and use of digital tools is not gender neutral, but the United Nations Development Programme actively supports women entrepreneurs in this direction.
One of the changemakers participating in BOOST’s acceleration programme is WeinCrypto, a startup that uses innovation and technology to advance gender equality and economic empowerment for women and youth.
WeinCrypto, launched by Varvara Lokteva, Tatiana Zelenskaya and Elena Chigibaeva, aims to empower women to benefit from crypto, NFT and Web3.0, and create a community for equal opportunities. At the moment, more and more companies, developers and users are talking about Web 3.0 – the third “generation” of the Internet, in which blockchain technologies will play a major role. According to the new concept, finance and technology will be increasingly decentralized, that is, less and less will be concentrated in the hands of large corporations and institutions. Everyone will have equal opportunities to earn and build a business.
“We are creating such an ecosystem where each member of the community can expand their understanding and involvement in the world of crypto, metaverses and blockchain. For example, you can take part in our online school or organized events, purchase NFTs of the community or get it by contributing to the development of DAO Weincrypto. We also plan to launch incubation programmes to support women and youth-led Web3.0 startups for members of the community,” says Varvara Lokteva, co-founder of WeInCrypto.
For many people, Web 3.0 is still something unknown and incomprehensible, so we tried to understand it.
Web 1.0 is basically reading on the web. Web 2.0 – reading and writing, that is, the user not only reads, but also creates their own content (for example, blogging). Web 3.0 – read, write, and own. The decentralized internet allows internet users to create and claim content or intellectual property, and monetize it (that is earn from it). Blockchain technologies help to contribute to the development of not only digital technologies, but also the creative economy. It is worth mentioning that the user communities around blockchain technologies, whose contribution and participation increase the value of a service or product developed using blockchain technologies. In the community, they create unique NFT collections, which are not only an object of intellectual property, but also a kind of “passport” for members and members of the community, which are valuable and will only increase in value with the development of the community. Learn more about the crypto world and blockchain on the initiative’s website.
Entrepreneurs not only can provide training, but also need to develop their own skills. Within 12 weeks, the founders of WeinCrypto completed the BOOST acceleration programme, consisting of five modules: business acceleration, impact measurement and management, digital transformation, crowdfunding, behavioral intuition.
Networking in the programme helped the participants make new acquaintances, identify possible collaborations and exchange experiences.
“I liked the modules on business modeling and behavioral theory the most during the training. The module on measuring social impact also helped a lot. Individual mentoring sessions with leading experts were especially useful, where there was an opportunity to discuss our project and future plans. The programme itself has become a powerful networking tool not only with participants, mentors, speakers, but also with experts from the field of blockchain,” Elena Chigibaeva, co-founder of WeinCrypto.
BOOST: Women Innovators, launched in February 2022, is an open competition for women innovators across the region who use innovation and technology to advance gender equality and bridge the gender digital divide. Recognizing that women entrepreneurs are still a rarity in the region, and that women are particularly underrepresented in venture capital funding, the call focuses on strengthening, consolidating and connecting women-led start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, social enterprises, non-profit organizations and academic institutions, and helps scale their innovative ideas and solutions.