Table of contents
No headings in the article.
What do these three things have in common? Just wait, you'd see.
In not less than three weeks, two really big events have happened in the southeast.
One? The just-concluded Polygon Guild Event.
Two? The Binance Campus Ambassadors Event.
Oh, and lest I forget the one that happened in January, The Buildspace Africa Event.
The first of its kind, in the whole of Africa.
And the turnup has been massive!
Where have they happened? In the same state and no, it is not Lagos.
As far as I can remember, whenever a tech hub for Nigeria was mentioned, people always referred to Lagos.
Which, truthfully might have been accurate because Lagos arguably has the highest concentration of developers.
But something I know Tboi (The GDG Lead, Enugu) has always tried to push was the narrative that Enugu could be that city too.
He'd say "forget the hype, Enugu get bad guys too!", which is true - but until recently hasn't been broadcasted to the world.
Men and brethren I'm here to testify that what web2 couldn't do fully, or rather, where web2 stopped, web3 came and is taking over.
We're putting Enugu on the map and stamping our presence globally. Special thanks to people like
- Ugochukwu Aronu; CEO Xend Finance
- Uche Edeoga; CEO of Blockchain Hub Africa and Polygon Lead
- Joshua Nwankwo; Buildspace Africa Lead.
- Tboi; GDG Enugu Lead, because anybody who's in Enugu tech knows how much work he puts in.
- And of course, the other amazing people working behind the scenes to make sure these programs are a success; Bell Omuboye, Sophia Ahuoyiza Abubakar, Ifedili Onyegbu (Saucecode), Joshua Egeonu, FrankPeter Ani, Ekennia Chidiebere and a bunch of other people.
I think aside from the fact that Africa's first blockchain finance app is from Enugu - a round of applause for Xend, please!
Most key people in the web3 space are from Enugu and these people are putting in so much work to raise awareness of both the crypto community and the other opportunities that are available in web3.
A key focus of web3 is to be communities and these people aren't playing in creating that environment for as many people as possible. And interestingly enough, it's paying off. Because the turn up has been massive!
Why? Because web3 has a spirit. It's called WAGMI, and in a country which so much depressing news all the time, and an even more depressing economy, a little hope goes a long way. We're humans, naturally, we're beings of hope. And while there's still scepticism about web3 and its relevance or how long it'd stay, WAGMI is a fever, and once you get it, it doesn't stop, it consumes you and the organizers are willing to help you foster it.
I don't know what the future would be like, but if things continue the way they're going right now, this wish wouldn't be so far in the future.
There are still going to be a bunch of events and opportunities from the space in the near future, and if you can, attend, please. Maybe you might understand the buzz and hype in the city right now. And make sure to get okpa! Everybody knows that Okpa that isn't gotten from Enugu is not real okpa. Trust me.
In the meantime, WAGMI!!!💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀
Cover Art Credit goes to Harmoni San