Across the globe, women entrepreneurs continue to face challenges in generating income and building wealth. Blame this on a variety of cultural and social factors, coupled with the challenges both men and women face living in countries with poorly regulated and corrupt financial systems.

However, one solution could help counter these age-old challenges: the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Thanks to this financial technology innovation, numerous startups have emerged, offering various services that can help women-owned businesses in the developing world thrive.

Many in the crypto space have made it their mission to attract and educate this population on how to leverage blockchain tech and digital assets to build wealth. Binance CMO Rachel Conlan explains, “Binance remains a leader in driving gender diversity across crypto and tech. Women now represent 40% of our workforce and half of our marketing team.” Conlan continued, “While progress has been made, there is still work to be done to usher more women into crypto. Through our International Women’s Day events, we aim to celebrate and inspire women, fostering financial empowerment and breaking down barriers to industry knowledge and participation.”

Through DeFi apps, these businesses can also mitigate difficulties related to the banking systems of their respective home countries. On top of this, the rising adoption of this technology is helping women entrepreneurs, and women in general, gain financial literacy, empowering them to earn and build wealth independently.

Financial Inclusion

As crypto and blockchain-based platforms have the potential to encourage financial inclusion, an increasing number of women in developing regions are gaining more than just the ability to accumulate, secure, and grow wealth.

By promoting financial literacy, this technology also empowers women and provides them with a greater level of autonomy. This is a benefit not only to the women themselves pursuing financial freedom, but also to their respective communities.

Research from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that increased female financial participation and empowerment enhances the resilience and strength of financial systems, which can also lead to economic growth and improved living standards.

Efforts to make use of traditional financial systems to encourage inclusion and empowerment have borne results. However, thus far, using crypto and blockchain-based platforms has proven to be a swifter and more effective way to implement change.

Expanding Capital Access

When it comes to the success of a business venture, whether large or small, access to capital is key. Oftentimes, women-owned businesses fail to thrive, due to an inability to obtain the financing necessary to get their enterprises off the ground.=

Blockchain technology has significantly increased access to capital and other financial services, due to factors like lower transaction costs and reduced barriers to entry. These platforms often bypass the need for traditional bank accounts

Funding from antipoverty programs, such as UNICEF’s Innovation Fund, has also been a prime source of the investment capital necessary for these platforms to proliferate.

A Much-Needed Technology for the Underbanked

During the 2010s, the number of individuals worldwide defined as “unbanked,” or lacking in a traditional bank account, has fallen from 2.5 billion in 2011 to 1.4 billion in 2021, according to the World Bank.

Yet while such a large reduction is nothing to sneeze at, 1.4 billion remains a very high figure, representing nearly one-sixth of the global population. For those still unbanked, including women small business owners, this creates many challenges. However, these barriers become far less insurmountable with the power of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Thanks to the rise of crypto-based platforms, female-owned businesses are able to enter the formal economy. Even as traditional banking products remain out of reach, DeFi platforms are enabling businesses in developing and frontier markets in Africa and other regions to safely accumulate and grow wealth through local currency alternatives like stablecoins.

The rising availability of blockchain-based cross-border remittance platforms provides an opportunity for women-owned businesses to choose a potentially safer, lower-priced means to transmit money from one country to another. Thanks to DeFi-based products and platforms, small woman-owned enterprises now have the solution to the “pain point” of local banking they’ve been seeking for a long time.=

*Investing involves risk and your investment may lose value. Past performance gives no indication of future results. These statements do not constitute and cannot replace investment advice.

ITP Media Group newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.