Crypto and blockchain are perceived as male-dominated fields, and the WEF 2021 report confirmed that by suggesting that women are underrepresented in the blockchain industry.
However, this perception is being continuously challenged by the growing number of women who are not just entering this field, but also assuming the leading role in it and making a change one block at a time!
As crypto is becoming more mainstream, the adoption of crypto has grown significantly among investors, the gender gap in crypto investment is wider than any other financial investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The fact that women still lag men when it comes to investing in crypto didn’t stop these Arab women from breaking this stereotype becoming founders, co-founders, blockchain specialists, and CEOs.
Without further ado, here are 5 Arab women who made a difference in the crypto world:
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Dina Samaan - Managing Director and Co-founder of CoinMENA
Perhaps one of the most-known Arab women in the typical male-centric crypto world recently is Dina Samaan who is making headlines as the co-Founder and Managing Director of CoinMENA, the fastest growing crypto exchange in MENA.
Before that, Dina worked on different projects in the crypto and blockchain world as well as in real estate. Stemming from her belief that crypto is the future of money and business, Dina followed her passion and leveraged her years of experience in the crypto field, leading her to be the first woman who created a fully regulated crypto exchange.
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Ola Doudin - CEO and Co-founder of BitOasis
Ola Doudin made it in the Arab crypto scene by becoming the CEO and co-founder of UAE-based BitOasis, the largest crypto platform in the region. Ola is also currently an advisor to another Bitcoin payment company in the Middle East, dubbed Yellow. Prior to that, Ola served as an Executive at Aramex, and before that she worked as a Manager for Arabia 500.
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Iman Mutlaq - CEO and Founder of INGOT Broker LLC
Iman Mutlaq is an entrepreneur, financier and social activist. With her intuition and expertise in financial markets, her most recent accomplishment was the launch of INGOT, a consortium of multinational companies operating across five continents that offers crypto services.
Also, Iman helped raise awareness about crypto and blockchain in her vlog explaining and simplifying the complicated crypto trading terms as well as sharing practical financial tips to the world.
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Salwa Radwi - Founder and CEO of Nuqtah
Being a creative enthusiast and Entrepreneurship fanatic, Salwa Radwi is the founder and CEO of Nuqtah, MENA’s first NFT marketplace. Salwa aims to enable artists to channel back the power to creators to realize their best opportunities. Having the vision and the guts to unleash blockchain potential, the end goal of the KSA-based NFT pioneer is to create a genuine community to embrace all art creators and enthusiasts.
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Dr. Amber Ghaddar - Founder of Alliance Block
UK based of Lebanese descent, Dr. Amber Ghaddar is Founder of Alliance Block, building a decentralized, blockchain-agnostic layer two protocol that automates the process of turning any digital asset, or crypto product, into bankable security with an internationally recognized Individual Securities Identification Number (ISIN).
Amber kicked off her career in Global Investment Research working at Goldman Sachs, and then she moved to the Cross Asset Solution team at JP Morgan in 2012 to work on structured and exotic products across Equities, FX, Rates, Credit, and Commodities. Later in her career, she headed the Macro Systematic Strategies effort at JP Morgan.
