The initiative is part of Binance‘s ongoing commitment to supporting communities in need and helping to alleviate hunger.

The Easter Food Drive, which took place on April 10th, 2023, saw Binance Charity collaborate with local NGO, Trinitas Foundation and community organizations to identify families in need of support, providing each of the 1000 families with a package of essential food items.

Speaking about the Easter Food Drive, Binance West & East Africa director, Nadeem Anjarwalla said, “At Binance, we believe that everyone deserves access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, and education. Our Easter Food Drive in Lagos was an important step in helping to support families and spread love as the Easter season is a time for sharing and giving. We are proud to have partnered with local NGOs and community organizations to make this initiative a success.”

With food inflation rising to 24.35% year-on-year in February 2023 and Nigeria’s food security remaining a significant challenge, Binance Charity is committed to supporting underprivileged communities in as many ways as it can.

The Easter Food Drive is just one of the many community-focused initiatives that Binance has undertaken in recent years.

The company has a long-standing commitment to supporting social causes and promoting economic development in communities around the world. Through Binance Charity, the company has donated millions of dollars to support education, food provision, health, and other initiatives across the continent.

Over $2.2 million in BUSD was donated during 2022 with projects spanning France, Senegal, Nigeria, Australia, Germany, Cyprus, Ukraine, South Africa, and Brazil, offering students the opportunity to study Web3-related courses free of charge.

So far Binance donations have funded 259,180 hours of training and education in the classroom, in boot camps, and in community workshops.

In total Binance Charity will be offering 67,155 scholarship places but many of these are yet to even open to applications.

Binance Charity is partnering with Binance Academy and several top academic and vocational institutions to deliver these projects including the University of Western Australia, the University of Nicosia, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management – Blockchain Center, Simplon, Utiva and Women in Tech, Kyiv IT Cluster and Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine.

“The response to our Web3 education projects has been unprecedented, showing the keen appetite of so many people to learn about blockchain, De-Fi, NFTs, coding, and much more. And, we’re seeing interest from a diverse range of people, including a great ratio of women, which is something I feel particularly passionate about. With so many more education initiatives and amazing pipeline partners, we’ve never been more excited to build a more inclusive Web3 world.” Said Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity.

IT Generation kick-started the global Binance Charity Scholar Program in June, an initiative designed to help Eastern Ukrainians, who have lost their jobs due to the war, to re-train and re-enter the job market in Western Ukraine, in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Other projects include vocational training for 10,000 people, including a specific course for 2000 women reducing the gender gap in the ecosystem and increasing the diversity of talent supply with the Frankfurt School of Blockchain, Germany. In France, we’ve partnered with Simplon to enable 10,000 people from disadvantaged communities in France – where unemployment is rapidly rising – to learn, study and enter the growing Blockchain industry.

“What we saw was interesting–I knew a little bit about the world of cryptocurrency before, but this time I got to learn about blockchain technology. It was clear– I had no idea you could do so much with it. I can’t wait to learn more.” comments Terry Genly, student Simplon.

In Brazil and South Africa, we’re working with Women in Tech to provide vocational training for 2,800 women in rural communities, creating future entrepreneurs and job creation.

And, UTIVA in Nigeria educates 50,000 young people in Blockchain/Web3 and provides scholarships for 1,000 Africans in a 1-year intensive skill training program, supporting them to move into employment.

Courses are available both online and offline, varying in length from short intro classes to a 12-month commitment. Topics include blockchain application, coding, cryptocurrency, decentralization, NFT, Metaverse, Fan token, and Trading.

This is just the beginning of Binance Charity’s education initiative, more projects are set to be announced early this year.

Binance Charity

Binance Charity is a non-profit organization dedicated to unlocking Web3 as a powerful tool for social change.

Its mission is to enable Web3 as a driver of social transformation by making its education and research accessible to all and advancing global solutions for local humanitarian impact.

Binance Charity uses its 100% transparent donation platform to build a future where technology is used as a force for good.

To date, Binance Charity has supported over 2 million end beneficiaries through various projects.

For some exchanges, year 2022 was very turbulent; this is the year an exchanged collapsed, another filed for bankruptcy. Binance witnessed many positives but not without its own challenges.

Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) Binance CEO said (virtually), however, during the end of the year party in Lagos, has seen an impressive growth. The exchange also intensified its penetration in Africa and commitment to developing communities.

For instance, Binance Charity, its philanthropic arm announced a flagship global partnership to provide blockchain educational courses to 2,800 women from vulnerable communities across Brazil and Africa.

Binance Charity donated $250,000 BUSD for a six-month pilot project to empower women with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a Web3 future, with the first courses taking place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and Cape Town, South Africa, in October, this year.

Meanwhile, the size of the global blockchain market is expected to grow from $4.93 billion in 2021 to more than $200 billion by 2028, showing that the future is here for the industry.

Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance Director for East Africa told TechEconomy that 2022 is a very instructive year for the crypto industry.

“We have seen a lot of progress happen regards regulation, especially as the governments (in Africa) are beginning to talk about the blockchain ecosystem”, he said.

Nadeem‘s optimisms were heightened by the South African government’s pronouncement in October declaring crypto assets to be a financial product to make it easier for regulators to monitor the market and help to safeguard consumers.

South Africa ranks 30th worldwide for cryptocurrency adoption, according to the Chainalysis 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, published in September. It is estimated that about 10-13% of the South African population are crypto holders.

Crypto adoption among South African Business Owners and CEOs is at an all-time high of 59.7%, almost 50% higher when compared to the average US citizen.

Bitcoin remains the popular choice for South African Business Owners with more than 85% of crypto owner respondents possessing Bitcoin.

Nadeem further told TechEconomy that cryptocurrency would become more adopted on the Continent through improved awareness.

“Technology becomes more adopted when awareness spreads. Secondly, as a first-mover in Africa, we hope that other governments will be able to adopt the digital currency. In essence, the surest thing is to make sure that security is advanced and Binance takes that very seriously.

Moving to 2023, he said that Binance would increase its efforts towards building formidable community. We have also realised that education and awareness is very important to drive adoption.

“In addition to that, we need to build consensus among the stakeholders. One of the key stakeholders in this respect is the regulator.

Binance 2022 in Numbers:

• 300 women graduated from Binance bootcamp
• 50,000 Africans are currently being educated under Binance Charity-Utiva partnership
• Binance achieved 117 key affliates
• 60 Binance Angels are now in Africa. Binance Angels are self-motivated representatives of the Binance community. They are passionate volunteers whose belief in the transformative power of blockchain technology ignited their passion to contribute to Binance’s vision: to increase the freedom of money around the world.
• Binance celebrated the first-ever crypto-sponsored vacation – i.e. ‘cryptotourism’ to Lagos, Nigeria, in order to show the world how efficient, secure and simple travel is in a web3 world.
• Nigeria’s Ibukun Awosika joined new Global Advisory Board for Binance
• In the face of FTX Collapse, Binance launched a number of initiatives to reassure users of transparency. READ HERE.

The Binance End of the Year Part attracted crème de crème players, influencers, communities and others in the country.

You can watch a video clip of the Binance end of the year part on YouTube.

The new partnership between Binancee Charity and Utiva is set to educate 50,000 young people in technology and provide scholarships for 1,000 Africans in a 1-year intensive skill training program.

The education program is aimed at young people (18 – 35) from over 19 countries across Africa. It consists of virtual workshops, which will run every weekend over the next 12 months, where students will learn tech skills and access virtual mentoring as a part of the project design.

Additionally, students who partake in the training will have access to fully funded year-long scholarships, which will provide access to Utiva’s top technology skill training for free. The collaboration aims to build a path for economic prosperity for the continent through skill training and access to vast job opportunities in the technology and Web3 sectors.

“We believe the benefits and vast opportunities of Web3 must be accessible to all. Advancing tech education and professional training are critical to making this happen. We’re proud to be partnering with Utiva, to engage the youth across Africa as we support the continent’s next generation of industry shapers.” said Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity.

Launched at the Utiva office in Lagos Nigeria on Thursday, October 20, 2022, the workshop hosted about 50 young people who will be a part of the first cohort of people that will access the fully-funded training and sponsorship.

“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.

At the launch workshop, students took part in a 4-hour training on Blockchain Technology and Software Development. This is the beginning of a 12-month commitment to the educational program.

Maxwell Maxwell, one of the students said, “It was my aspiration to learn Data Science but I have always been limited by financial constraints. Now, my dreams are close to being fulfilled.”

This initiative is part of the wider Binance Scholar Program launched earlier this year and now has active projects in Ukraine, South Africa, France, and Brazil. The initiative is enabling the next generation of digital leaders to develop their skills, knowledge, and experience without financial barriers.

Binance Charity is donating $250,000 BUSD for a six-month pilot project to empower women with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a Web3 future, with the first courses taking place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and Cape Town, South Africa, in October, this year.

The size of the global blockchain market is expected to grow from $4.93 billion in 2021 to more than $200 billion by 2028.

Yet, for the past four decades the gender gap in tech has widened, with only one woman in every five people working in the industry today.

Providing professional training to the massive career opportunities set to open within the blockchain industry for women is a shared goal of Binance and Women in Tech an international non-profit organization with a mission to close the gender gap across the tech sector.

“Binance believes the future of crypto should be built by all, not the few so we’re creating certified courses and removing financial barriers for women, especially those from vulnerable communities, to study and train. It is important to us at Binance and Women-in-Tech that quality blockchain education, innovation, and research opportunities are within everyone’s reach.” said Helen Hai, VP of Binance and Head of Binance Charity.

Courses will be offered in classes of 25 to young women aged 15-25 by qualified trainers in person, online, or as a hybrid.

The Web3 courses will be designed by Binance Academy and adapted to meet local context. Courses will include:

• Blockchain fundamentals
• Crypto fundamentals
• Decentralization
• Web3 and the Metaverse

“Through our hybrid model of distance and in-person learning, women can train to pursue a career in blockchain regardless of their existing developer skills. Classes will be designed for complete beginners and will include skills such as web development, front-end development, full-stack development, and the Blockchain modules.

“We believe that education can truly transform lives. Not only does it contribute to social justice, but more importantly, education contributes to the achievement of one’s full potential. It teaches skills and knowledge, fostering opportunities for sustainable impact. We look forward to our partnership with Binance, making blockchain education accessible to all, especially those women and girls who have been previously disadvantaged.” said Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO Women in Tech.

The Brazil pilot programme will take place in Morro dos Prazeres, Rio de Janeiro, for one of the first cohorts of 50 women; over the course of the following 5 months, another 300 women will be signed up to the program countrywide.

The South Africa pilot will take place in Cape Town at the Philippi Village Tech Hub in the Philipp Township for an additional 50 women.

Over the duration of the next six months, further programmes will be rolled out across Zambia, Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Burundi, Kenya, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.

This project is part of the Binance Scholar Program, which will provide ongoing educational and professional support to students once they complete their courses. The global program was launched last month with the IT Generations project, offering 1000 Ukrainians full scholarships to study in tech-related courses. The Binance Scholar Program hopes to enable the next generation of digital leaders to develop their skills, knowledge, and experience without financial barriers.