The internet has changed the face of work for women. Women are breaking through glass ceilings, becoming bosses, and leaving traditional careers for new opportunities in the digital world. But who is a lady with the backing of an entire community?
Meet Oluchi Enebeli and the team whose goal over the next three years is to impact 100,000 women with the technicality to succeed in the Web3 space.
Gems hidden in the shadows of traditional stereotypes: From eggs to pupa.
"While it is interesting for us to look at what we have accomplished in the last few months, I think it's important to take an inventory of where we've come from," Oluchi said to the rest of the team with a smile as lovely as the frost at the first standup meeting of the month.
In 2017, Oluchi began work as a web development intern at a company dominated by women, where she enjoyed women's creativity, resilience, and passion. Although she had been in tech for a while, she became increasingly aware as she progressed in her career that women in tech companies were underrepresented.
It is no secret that there are many reasons behind this disparity - from lack of awareness and access to employment opportunities to discrimination by prospective employers. The fact that most ladies lack the necessary skills and confidence to succeed in a tech career became a significant pain point for Oluchi. But what can be done about an ignored problem?
Thanks for your interest thus far; let's continue.
Oluchi mobilized Jennifer Echenim, Faith Obafemi, Dara Olayebi, Ajoke Asunmonu, Chidinma Umeh and Nkechi Enebeli and started off LadiesDoTech. She also got support from the likes of Clement Hugbo, founder of Web3D, who also showed his support for women empowerment. The vision was simple- to help onboard ladies with little or no experience in tech into tech while also assisting those already in web2 to transition into web3.
Ideas they say are like slippery fish; they seem to have a peculiar knack for getting away from us. In 2017, LadiesDoTech was formed but was never implemented. However, in 2020, LadiesDoTech made its way into the public's consciousness through Twitter, Instagram, and Slack. As the community grew, it metamorphosed into Web3 Ladies, which currently has over 15,000 community members.
The not-so-fun part of community building.
Organising a great event with a small team and only a few people showing up can be frustrating. They say a thousand people can feed ten people, but ten cannot feed a thousand. But what if the supposed thousand doesn't show up after nights of toiling?
Chidinma and Jennifer first struggled with managing and growing a community as they were saddled with the responsibilities of getting members. For their first 100 members, they started organising "community" events to explain the nitty-gritty of Web3. Participants were required to be part of the community to gain access to the event. It seems like an intelligent approach, right? However, while the ladies were still celebrating their little victory, another battle needed to be won.
All communities have work to do, but where can these ladies find compassionate members to build the vision of a non-profit?
The road to exploits and everything in between
Building a community requires a team that believes in and executes the community's vision. To build a resilient team, Oluchi and the rest of the team thought it wise to transition most of the core team from a volunteer-based role to a paid role.
Although it wasn't convenient for the team since most of the costs came from personal funds, the team started reaping the fruit of this strategic move as it yielded prolific results. Money truly is an effective, powerful, and simple motivator.
"We need to give a shout-out to Adaugo Ezeala, Mercy Ajiboye and Oyindamola Abiola, who were not founding members but have attained the founding members status through their dedication and contribution. In the spirit of appreciation, I would also like to thank the Leadership team, Blessing Onyelobi, Precious Ezema, Ijidolapo Ijiwoye, the Core team, Precious Lebonu, Toluwanimi Ajiboye, Samuel Ajibola, Feranmi Olowoyo and our mentor, Godspower Eze of Web3 track especially as he has been with us from the start." Oluchi chuckled with an appreciative tone. "Since getting the dream team, we have trained over 350 mentees across four African countries, starting with Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa, and we are working on our fifth."
Oluchi's defining moment of exploits would be when Web3 Ladies started signing partnerships with prominent crypto leaders in the industry to educate and onboard more ladies into the community. It would help if you read about the partnership with FTX, Polygon, and ShecodeAfrica. We almost forgot to mention the mentorship and work tool program; she interrupted the click-click sound coming from the keyboard.
The team introduced the Mentorship program for newbies and knowbies to become job-ready tech staff. The mentorship program is an arena where mentors meet mentees. As part of the Mentorship programs, ladies were organised into cohorts for a sense of self-confidence and to whet their appetite for endless possibilities.
In the absence of tools, what good is a skill? The work tool program soon kicked off by providing laptops, Mifi with over 16GB of data, and inverters to support over 500 ladies in their quest to secure their dream tech jobs. It's a good time to say #WAGMI.
Towards 100,000 community members
It's 2022, and Web3Ladies is rapidly becoming the go-to community for most African ladies seeking a community to acquire skills, learn about the new web (Web 3.0), network with other like-minded women, and share opportunities.Bold
These are some of the accomplishments Oluchi, and the team are extremely proud of. Slowly but surely, they are taking their baby global, but the reward for good work is more work.
"Web 3.0 is starting to transform the world, and it's going to be as disruptive as the inception of the internet". Oluchi continues with a conviction as sure as hell.
A variety of sectors are expected to adopt Web3.0 blockchain, including financial services to retail and e-commerce, media and entertainment, healthcare, IT, government, and energy.
So how do we position 100,000 ladies at the forefront of these reforms?
A satisfied expression crosses Oluchi's face as she concludes the meeting for the day with Where there is a will, there is a way.
Keep an eye on Web3Ladies for updates on opportunities, mentorship programs, and work tools in the Web3 Industry.
