Crypto Gains Popularity among Women in South Africa

Unlike most parts around the world, the African culture has since time immemorial, prevented women from making significant contributions in the financial world. However, despite the norms and traditions, women in Africa are using various tools like blockchain and cryptocurrencies to rise up the economic ladder.
Recent reports by AltCoin Trader, one of the leading crypto exchanges in South Africa (SA) showed that the number of women engaging in cryptocurrency activities keeps growing by the day. According to the exchanges’ internal data, 39% of its registered users are women. Richard de Sousa, a senior partner at AltCoin Trader, explained:
“We are definitely seeing an increase in the number of women that own cryptocurrency as opposed to previous years. As the industry matures, more women are actively partaking in this evolution.”
Despite having more men in the cryptocurrency space, De Sousa believes women have a significant impact on the industry. De Sousa acknowledges that a lot has to be done to increase the number of women in the cryptocurrency space. He added:
“At AltCoin Trader, we are constantly trying to work on educating the South African public on the matter and as more women get an education on the topic, we are certain that more women will get involved.”
VALR, another cryptocurrency exchange in South Africa agrees with AltCoin Traders. While commenting on the matter, Farzam Ehsani, a co-founder at VALR had this to say:
“At VALR, some of our highest volume traders are women. But it has been very encouraging to see an increase in the number of women join the crypto space, not just as traders but as though-leaders, several of whom are South African.”
Records from yet another exchange in SA show the same trend. Marius Reltz, the general manager of Africa at Luno, reported that 40% of Luno’s team is made up of women. Reltz explained that records from research conducted by an Independent South African Survey back in 2018 showed that women were still reluctant in joining the space. However, Reitz believes education will help changes this narrative. He explained:
“We believe that if women are as familiar with the technology, participation by women in cryptocurrency is likely to increase. We, therefore, have a particular focus on growing awareness about cryptocurrency and using the Luno platform.”
In Kenya, one lady, Beatrice Wanjiku is using her restaurant, Betty’s Place to teach the community around her more on cryptocurrency. Currently, her customers can use crypto to make payments for goods and services from her business.
