This week we spoke with Awosika Ayodeji of Web3Bridge, a program that trains individuals in Africa to become web3 developers by offering a collaborative and supportive learning environment.
The Origin Story
Ayodeji’s journey into web3 began in community management—something he could do from home while learning about the intricacies of this unfolding technology. As a bright individual with a knack for seeing the big picture, it did not take him long to identify a common flaw within the emerging decentralized web. “There is a gap between the tech and its users,” he said. “And the only way we can have massive adoption is to marry the two.” Desiring to be part of the solution to this dilemma, he set out to provide education and support for people seeking guidance within the space. This proved to be a difficult task, often taking the back burner as he continued diving deeper into the blockchain world—moving from community management into business development, often the only African and Nigerian man on the teams he was working with.
As Ayodeji gained experience in the web3 space, he couldn’t shake his idea to provide more web3 education within Africa. In 2019, he designed a pilot program and got a handful of people on board to teach. The pilot program was free and the idea behind it was to act as a bridge for web2 developers to translate their skills into the web3 world (hence the name, Web3Bridge). When the pilot program concluded, there was an immediate demand for another program and Ayodeji responded with more online programming. However, after noting the difficulties that virtual students were having with internet connection, costs associated with internet use, and just general life distractions, Ayodeji and the Web3Bridge team decided to create a physical learning center in Lagos, Nigeria where program participants could come and complete the 8 week program in person. The program, Ayodeji told us, provides not only web3 education, but housing, food, and internet too—all free of charge with the intention of growing an employable web3 community. “Ultimately, we are looking to build people who are actually employable to the space,” Ayodeji told us. “We want them to start taking Gitcoin bounties after just 2 weeks.”
Support the Participants of Web3Bridge
One of the unique aspects of Web3Bridge is that in the second month of the program, participants get to take part in an internship to practice the skills they’ve acquired. We would love to see participants working with and learning from members of the Panvala community! If you or your project is open to taking on an intern or working with an alum from the Web3Bridge program, you can reach out to Ayodeji at ayodeji@web3bridge.com or head to the Web3Bridge telegram group here. Ayodeji also mentioned that he would love to have any of the Panvala community members offer their experience and “invigorate participants” as a guest speaker. We encourage you to connect with this innovative project and learn more about the program on the Web3Bridge website!