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Over the past decade, global interest in women-led/owned businesses has increased, leading to robust community-building movements and the creation of innovative solutions for this growing market.
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Despite the availability of solutions, cross-border trade remains a significant challenge for women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Africa, the MENA region and sub-Saharan Africa. This challenge severely limits their ability to do business with each other and with the rest of the world, despite their shared cultural values.
Blockchain technology is an emerging infrastructure that holds great promise for women entrepreneurs who are geographically close but economically disconnected. Women entrepreneurs in both MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa are among those who will benefit most from emerging technologies. However, they face economic challenges that limit their power and hinder access to international markets. Inefficiency, limited access to financing, high costs, lack of transparency, unfavorable regulations and cultural barriers all create obstacles for women-led small and medium-sized businesses in the region.
Blockchain has the potential to significantly transform the financial sector and facilitate the inclusion of women doing business across borders. Using blockchain-based payment systems eliminates trade barriers and businesses can access new markets and customers. This allows companies to repatriate their income immediately.
This technology allows women-led businesses to turn real-world assets into on-chain assets that they have full control over and can trade whenever they want. This solution gives them financial independence, which is often denied to many in this part of the world. This economic freedom is an essential catalyst for positive socio-economic change in the future.
One of the most innovative and emerging applications of blockchain technology is its combination with AI to solve real-world problems. At Boom, we exemplify this integration as we use decentralized AI to provide businesses with access to credit by generating credit scores. These credit scores will be shared with financial institutions, giving women-led SMEs access to the loans and capital they need to grow and expand their businesses.
Blockchain technology is considered an infrastructural technology, and its adoption into the global economic model is no longer in question. With the introduction of Bitcoin ETF and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), it is clear that the technology is here to stay. Blockchain-based ecosystems are significantly changing the commercial landscape between the MENA and Sub-Saharan regions, offering a complete range of solutions that address the daily challenges faced by cross-border trade and unbanked situations.
Addressing the high cost of information and communications technology (ICT), the lack of reliable internet access and the gender gap in technology is essential to ensure that women entrepreneurs are fully included and participate in the blockchain ecosystem. Providing digital literacy and ICT training can help women entrepreneurs develop the necessary skills to overcome these challenges and succeed in the digital world. Moreover, these difficulties can also create opportunities for collaboration and innovation to support women-led SMEs.
To drive the successful implementation of blockchain among women entrepreneurs, technology companies need to work closely with different countries, government agencies, financial institutions and NGOs. They should create a favorable regulatory environment and directly support SMEs by offering training and education programs and financial resources for hardware.
Blockchain technology is critical to the future success of women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the MENA and African regions. This relationship between blockchain and women is becoming more robust and promising every day, and both parties must work together to achieve success. Women play a crucial role in driving technology adoption within households and will undoubtedly play an important role in bringing blockchain to the masses.
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Naomi Whitney
Naomi Whitney, chief product officer at Boom, is a versatile executive who combines her liberal arts mentality with technology. She is driven by a relentless pursuit of excellence, customer success and a strong commitment to altruism. She brings a unique blend of expertise from her career in the luxury beauty industry to her innovative work in the crypto sector.