Web3 is bringing “endless” opportunities to Indonesia, changing lives in Nigeria, breaking qualification barriers in India, changing skeptics’ minds in the Philippines and is making its way to Uruguay.
Delegates at the Binance Blockchain Week talked about their Web3 stories and the growth of Web3 opportunities within their local communities.
The recent conference brought crypto community members from all over the world to share their passions, meet like-minded people, learn from keynote speeches by community leaders, and share their perspectives on the state of Web3.
One of the topics people showed interest in was the growing demand for Web3 talent. As the internet is evolving from Web2 into Web3, reports show that the demand for talent within the Web3 space is rapidly increasing and there are lots of opportunities popping up within the industry.
While statistics are very important, insights directly from the people who are witnessing the transformation of the industry are just as crucial.
Bringing “endless” opportunities to Indonesia
Joko Crypto, a masked crypto crusader from Indonesia, shared his insights about what Web3 is currently doing to his country. According to Joko, people are very excited about Web3 and that opportunities in the space are “always lingering.”
“In a country like Indonesia, […], the excitement of Web3 job opportunities are always lingering. From being a play-to-earn ‘freelancer’ to becoming a paid admin for Telegram, the opportunities are endless.”
The anonymous crypto evangelist also believes that the same thing is happening globally. Meanwhile, Yoseph Soenggoro, a Web3 developer from Indonesia, agrees with the masked crusader. According to Soenggoro, “it’s definitely a $1 trillion opportunity for our generation.”
The developer explains that currently, the most established projects in their local Web3 landscape are centralized exchanges. However, Soenggoro believes that over time, there are going to be more decentralized finance protocols that are going to be built in Indonesia and that this will bring many “potential jobs for people in Web3.”
Related: Indonesia’s crypto industry in 2021: A kaleidoscope
Changing lives in Nigeria
“Crypto changed my life,” said Chike Okonkwo as he described his personal experience in Nigeria. He started his Web3 journey in 2016, and now, Okonkwo is working as an executive at a blockchain gaming project.
According to Okonkwo, he tried to do a couple of things as a student to make money. However, crypto has been the most impactful and has given him many opportunities. “I have not just only made money trading cryptocurrencies but also have worked with crypto companies,” he said.
Okonkwo explained that the blockchain offers “a lot of opportunities for us in Africa and the world globally.” He believes that it enables people to build solutions that are able to have a significant impact by helping people solve problems.
“I am introducing more and more people, young people, into this space because it can change their lives economically.”
Apart from Okonkwo, Ukeme Okuku who is also from Nigeria, shared his thoughts on Web3 within their local communities. According to Okuku, while there are many active Africans in design and community management, the “biggest issue” now is awareness.
“Because of the crypto and blockchain, space is still a niche. There are very few people that know about it.”
Breaking qualification barriers in India
Speaking from an Indian perspective, a delegate from India that wanted to stay anonymous also shared his thoughts on what Web3 is doing within the country. According to him, there were barriers for people in India. He noted:
“They needed to study in a good school, go to a good university, and then apply for jobs. Without these good credentials, you couldn’t apply to anything.”
However, the delegate stated that in Web3, it’s very easy for a person without a sparkling academic track record to get in. He believes that in Web3, “a person only needs to have abilities.”
The delegate explained that, within his country, there are many areas in which the people don’t get enough support. However, these restrictions are lessened when it comes to Web3 and this is because of the internet. “You have the internet, you have the power,” he said.
Changing skeptics’ minds in the Philippines
A Web3 developer from the Philippines, Jene Dizon, believes that at the moment, there are plenty of opportunities for Filipinos in the Web3 industry. As a person who worked in crypto for more than five years, Dizon thinks that there’s a huge demand for Web3 talent in the region. He noted:
“There are lots of opportunities in Web3 for Filipinos. Adoption of Web3 is not just for first-world countries, but also for developing countries. Though, I believe it may take around 2-3 years before it gets fully integrated into the mainstream.”
Apart from this, Dizon pointed out the similarities between the beginning of the internet and the current start of Web3 within the country. “When the internet started in our country, there were also a lot of skeptics. But now, everything is online,” he said.
“I believe the same will happen to Web3 back home,” said Dizon. He noted that, while there are still many skeptics, they are slowly changing their minds and are looking into the technology, and at the right time, it will be applied to all industries.
Making its way to Uruguay
Alexis Martinovic, a tech content creator from Uruguay also attended the conference to learn more about Web3 and expand his network. At the moment, Martinovic believes that in his country, Web3 adoption is just starting and that soon, people will be seeing Web3 projects in his country.
“There are no local projects supporting Web3 at the moment. […] But it’s I think that soon we will start seeing them. Of course, everybody in every country is going in that direction.”
Martinovic also highlighted the low barriers to coming into Web3. “In order to just jump to Web3, you don’t need you don’t even need a bank account,” he said. Because of this, even developing regions have a chance to jump in.
