The Stellar (XLM) Development Foundation (SDF) recently highlighted its commitment to gender diversity and inclusion in the blockchain sector during the SheFi Summit in Brussels. Anke Liu, Senior Manager on the Ecosystem Growth team at SDF, delivered a keynote titled “Are there Real-World Use Cases for Blockchain?”

Empowering Unbanked Women

Stellar’s mission is to create equitable access to the global financial system, focusing on providing products and services to unbanked and underbanked populations. According to the World Economic Forum, women constitute 55% of the global unbanked population, necessitating tailored solutions to address their specific needs.

Stellar believes that women are best suited to develop these solutions, given their firsthand understanding of the challenges faced by unbanked women. However, the disparity in the tech and financial sectors presents a significant hurdle. In 2023, companies founded by women received only 2% of distributed venture capital funding, and women represent just 27% of the Web3 workforce. Furthermore, only 13% of Web3 founding teams include at least one woman, according to Forbes.

Stellar Community Fund’s Role

The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) is an initiative by SDF to support projects building on the Stellar network. In 2023, SCF awarded over $13 million worth of XLM to various projects. This year, the Ecosystem Growth team aims to increase the gender diversity of Stellar builders and SCF awardees, ensuring that funded projects have real-world applications that positively impact diverse communities globally.

For additional information, visit the Stellar blog.

Image source: Shutterstock