In an effort to bolster Africa's tech community and reduce unemployment across the continent, Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has partnered with Utiva to provide full scholarships through Binance Charity to African young adults to teach them about blockchain and Web3 skills. Binance's goal is to provide educational programs to 50,000 young adults, and the company recently announced that it has awarded 1,000 full scholarships. Miracle C. Amakom, a Binance Charity Tech Scholar from Cameroon, said the educational program will help her work towards her professional goals.
In October, Binance Charity announced a partnership with Utiva with the goal of providing educational programs for 50,000 African young adults, 1,000 of whom would receive full, year-long scholarships, according to a Binance blog post. The program is designed for people between the ages of 18 and 35 from more than 19 countries across the continent to learn essential tech skills that will help them enter careers in the Web3 and sectors. The program launched on Oct. 20 with a workshop of around 50 scholarship recipients hosted at the Utiva office in Lagos, Nigeria. Utiva is an Africa-based tech education company.
“Africans are talented and hardworking but most times, the constraints of resources can be a major limiting factor when pursuing a laudable aspiration like moving into technology. We are super excited that Binance Charity understands the African pain point and has partnered with us at Utiva to help thousands of Africans and break the barrier to entry for many,” said Eyitayo Ogunmola, CEO of Utiva.
On Jan. 31, Binance Charity announced that 1,000 scholarships had been awarded, through which recipients will have access to free, year-long courses through Binance Academy, according to a blog post. Several Binance Charity Tech Scholarship winners shared what the scholarships mean to them. Renee Ovwigho, a scholar from Nigeria, said, "The blockchain industry has always been of interest to me mainly because of the aspect of data security. With industries adopting blockchain technology recently, I think this is the perfect opportunity to learn."
Miracle Amakom, a scholar from Camaroon, said, "I am an engineering student looking to receive top training academically and professionally. I applied for the Binance Charity Tech Scholarship as soon as I heard about it, and I’m so excited that I got the scholarship! This marks the start of my dream to become a full-stack developer. I can’t wait for lessons to start."
Nicholas Katungi of Uganda shared, "I’m currently in the blockchain industry working in a company that deals with cross-border payments and digital asset exchanges with the aid of blockchain technology. Because there is a wealth of wisdom to acquire in the blockchain tech vertical, I applied for this to advance my data skills and, hopefully, my career in blockchain tech space soon."
The Binance Scholar Program has partnered with other organizations and institutions across the globe to provide scholarships and educational programs to those who would otherwise face financial barriers to entering the tech industry, according to the Binance website. The Binance Scholar Program is active in Ukraine, France, Greece, Australia, and Germany in addition to Africa.