JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Blockchain technology is one of the most notable developments of our age. A recent Deloitte survey of senior executives worldwide in 2019 found that 53% of respondents said blockchain has become a critical priority (an increase from last year) (http://bit.ly/33FXAgF) and 83% of respondents believe there are compelling use cases for blockchain.

In honour of International Women’s Day celebrated annually in March, the global peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, Paxful (https://Paxful.com/), is shining the spotlight on the contribution women are making to the rapidly growing blockchain and bitcoin industries.

Paxful has launched an annual list of the leading female professionals and entrepreneurs in the African Blockchain and Bitcoin industries to highlight some of the most influential women in these emerging sectors. In no particular order, the individuals on this year’s list are all innovative and inspirational leaders who are actively making a difference and carving the pathway for other females to enter and make their mark in a space that has been predominantly occupied and led by men.

Ray Youssef, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paxful says: “This year’s International Women’s Day theme, #EachforEqual is drawn from a notion that ‘collectively, each one of us can help create a gender-equal world’. The tech sector rightly gets a bad rap for not yet being inclusive enough. As an industry, we can all do better. Beyond a moral imperative, there’s no question that tech businesses and our society can only benefit from embracing talent with diverse backgrounds, experiences, values, and ideas.”

“Personally, I think women are better at tech. Women add a new dimension to innovation, they’re better collaborators, community builders and in many ways better problem solvers. And as such are absolutely critical to the future of the blockchain and bitcoin ecosystem. Paxful is committed to growing female participation in the sector, and especially championing female talent from emerging markets,” adds Youssef.