The “Binance Woman in Technology Academy,” a collaborative initiative between Binance and the Woman in Technology Association (Wtech), has awarded certificates to its first graduates after a six-week intensive program. The Binance Woman in Technology Academy aims to reach 5,000 women in five years, seeking to change gender balance in crypto, blockchain, and Web 3.0 in Türkiye.
Binance, Türkiye’s leading crypto asset platform, in collaboration with the Woman in Technology Association (Wtech), had its first graduates of the Binance Woman in Technology Academy. At the graduation ceremony, certificates were presented to 50 students who successfully completed the six-week training program.
The Binance Woman in Technology Academy aims to address gender imbalances in crypto, blockchain, and Web 3.0 in Türkiye and improve women’s financial literacy. Within the program, online training sessions on modern financial technologies such as finance, technology, crypto, NFTs, cloud computing, and digital wallets were provided to 50 female students in their fourth year of university or recent graduates.
Announced in November 2023, the six-week program attracted significant attention. Originally planned as a pilot with 25 students, the program was expanded to include 50 participants. The training sessions were conducted by expert academics and industry leaders.
Upon completing their training, students participated in an Ideathon process. During the Ideathon, students were asked to develop projects in Web3, blockchain, and crypto under the theme of Gender Equality from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Sustainable Development Goals. After developing their project ideas with the help of facilitators, students presented their projects to a jury.
At the ceremony, Binance Türkiye’s Marketing Director Harika Eldoğan, and Founding President of the Woman in Technology Association Zehra Öney delivered inspiring speeches, alongside prominent female figures in the crypto world.
The Target is to Provide Education to 5,000 Women in 5 Years
Starting her speech by celebrating International Women’s Day just before March 8, Binance Türkiye’s Marketing Director Harika Eldoğan, stated:
“Our goal is to provide education to 5,000 women in five years and empower them in financial technologies. I want to emphasize that the Binance Woman in Technology Academy is not just an education program; it is also an initiative to build a community. Through this program, women working in different fields can connect with each other and share knowledge and experiences.”
Founding President of the Woman in Technology Association Zehra Öney stated in her speech, referring to the Future of Jobs Report published by the World Economic Forum in 2023, that by 2027, 44% of workers’ skills will be significantly disrupted and transformed, with women being most affected by this change. She added:
“Currently, many tasks performed by women facing challenges in accessing finance and financial technologies will soon be taken over by artificial intelligence. This situation is likely to increase the unemployment rates among women. It is predicted that by 2030, 340 million women and girls, equivalent to 8% of the world’s population, will live in extreme poverty. The financial technologies you learned at the Binance Woman in Technology Academy offer significant opportunities to women due to the decentralized nature of Web 3. The education you received here covers not only financial technologies but also topics such as crypto, NFTs, cloud computing, and digital wallets. Therefore, I consider today not only as a graduation ceremony for you but also as the beginning of a new era. In the first training session we conducted under the academy, you were part of a class of 50 people, and for 6 weeks, you extensively learned about financial technologies. I see the conclusion of this education not as the end of a chapter but as the start of a new one for you.”
After the presentation of awards to the groups that excelled in Ideathon, students received their certificates on stage from Binance Türkiye’s Marketing Director Harika Eldoğan, and Founding President of the Woman in Technology Association Zehra Öney.
Following the graduation ceremony, the “Inspiring Stories with Women Partners” panel featured role models in the crypto field. Filiz Yalçın, Kamile Uray, and Gülen Okumuş, shared their stories during the panel. In the second panel titled “Learn from Women in the Crypto World,” Binance Angels Zeynep İrcal, Elif Aydın, and AltcoinTurk Growth Manager İdil Dadan shared their experiences with crypto assets.
