Women in DeFi Summit 2026 Report
Date: April 25th, 2026
Location: The Zone Tech Park, Gbadada, Lagos, Nigeria.
Report By: Elzz
Introduction
On April 25th, 2026, Zcash participated as a Gold Sponsor at the Women in DeFi Summit 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria.
The summit gathered an estimated 1000 attendees and 500+ YouTube live streamers across different sectors of the Web3 ecosystem, including builders, founders, creators, students, researchers and blockchain enthusiasts. The event created an opportunity to introduce Zcash and conversations around financial privacy to a large, crypto-native audience within one of Africa’s fastest-growing blockchain communities.
This initiative was designed not just for visibility, but for direct ecosystem engagement: educating attendees about privacy, onboarding new users into Zcash, answering practical questions around financial privacy, and creating entry points for contributors and builders interested in the ecosystem.
Sponsorship Scope
As a Gold Sponsor, Zcash received:
- Dedicated booth presence
- Speaker session
- Panel session participation
- Event branding and banner placement
- Social media mentions and visibility
- Media exposure throughout the summit
In addition to the official sponsorship package, my team independently organized booth merchandise and attendee engagement materials to strengthen interaction and improve onboarding activity.
Team Structure & Responsibilities
This initiative was executed by a 5-woman team.
Elzz
Role: Event Lead, Speaker & Ecosystem Representative
Responsibilities:
- Led overall event planning and execution
- Represented Zcash throughout the summit
- Delivered speaker session and participated in panel discussions
- Led strategic engagement with attendees, builders, and ecosystem participants
- Coordinated onboarding flow and ecosystem conversations
- Organized merchandise and attendee engagement structure
@Omegaonchain
Role: Media Lead (Video, Content & Social Distribution)
Responsibilities:
- Captured event footage and interviews
- Produced short-form content for distribution
- Supported real-time content publishing during the event
- Assisted in post-event content production
@UknowZork_12 & @missfifi0x
Role: Event Operations & Engagement Support
Responsibilities:
- Managed booth presence and attendee engagement
- Guided onboarding conversations and answered ecosystem questions
- Assisted with ZODL wallet setup and Discord onboarding
- Supported logistics and attendee flow coordination
Freelance Media Assistant
Role: Media Support
Responsibilities:
- Assisted with photography and media coverage during high-traffic periods
- Supported interview coordination and content capture
Speaker Session - “Understanding Financial Privacy: The Role of Zcash”
My presentation focused on introducing attendees to the concept of financial privacy, why it matters in everyday life, and the role Zcash plays in enabling private financial activity within crypto.
The session focused on:
- what financial privacy means
- how financial surveillance already exists in traditional systems
- why public-by-default blockchains create additional exposure
- how Zcash approaches privacy differently
One of the strongest reactions during and after the presentation was surprise that a project like Zcash had existed since 2016 without many attendees previously hearing about it.
This became one of the most important conversation drivers throughout the summit.
Many attendees approached the booth afterward wanting to:
- understand how Zcash works
- learn how to use privacy tools
- set up wallets immediately
- explore contribution opportunities within the ecosystem
Booth Activity & Onboarding Execution
The booth became one of the most active engagement points during the summit.
Attendee interaction levels were significantly higher than initially anticipated, with continuous onboarding conversations, wallet setup requests, ecosystem questions and merchandise participation happening simultaneously.
Early into the event, the team had to restructure the booth workflow to handle demand more efficiently.
The onboarding flow was reorganized into:
- a station for scanning QR codes and downloading ZODL wallet
- a station for setup assistance and ecosystem questions
- a separate engagement station for merchandise activities
This adjustment significantly improved attendee flow and reduced congestion around onboarding activities.
Common Questions & Ecosystem Conversations
Some of the most recurring questions included:
- “So Zcash is a whole blockchain on its own?”
- “How has Zcash existed since 2016 and many of us haven’t heard about it?”
- “How can I start cleaning my financial footprint?”
- “What happens if I want to pay someone who doesn’t accept ZEC?”
- “What if I want to receive ZEC but the sender doesn’t own any?”
- “Can I on-ramp and off-ramp ZEC in Nigeria?”
- “Will transactions remain private during on-ramp and off-ramp processes?”
These questions created valuable educational moments and revealed strong curiosity around practical financial privacy.
Tools & Ecosystem Introduced
The primary onboarding tool introduced during the summit was:
ZODL Wallet
Attendees were guided through:
- wallet downloads
- setup process
- joining the Zcash Discord community
- understanding practical privacy use cases
Key Metrics & Outcomes
Direct Engagement
- ~350 direct booth interactions
- 206 ZODL wallet downloads
- 125 new Discord community joins (Discord onboarding was partially affected when the invite link temporarily stopped accepting new joins due to traffic volume.)
QR Codes and link engagement details can be found here
Event Participation
- 1 dedicated presentation delivered
- 1 panel session completed
- 5 recorded interviews captured for distribution
- Multiple ecosystem conversations with builders, creators, and community members
Ecosystem Growth Signals
- Strong increase in inbound contributor interest after the event
- Continued post-event outreach via DMs from attendees interested in participating within the ecosystem
- At least 10 potential contributors/builders identified and introduced to contribution pathways. The actual number of interested participants appears significantly higher based on continued follow-up conversations after the summit.
Content & Media Coverage
Content Produced
- Event recap video published
- Multiple event photos shared across social platforms
- 5 event-related posts published
- Speaker clips and interview edits currently in production
Media files can be found here
Metrics
Total impressions: 8,480
Engagement metrics: 98 comments, 64 reposts, 426 likes
https://x.com/i/status/2044820350115201137
https://x.com/i/status/2048365789061714138
https://x.com/i/status/2049047523432530341
https://x.com/i/status/2049531140625530914
https://x.com/i/status/2049752489507901790
The event itself was also livestreamed by the organizers, increasing additional visibility beyond physical attendees.
https://www.youtube.com/live/WnSWfxL11yg?si=1DFnC-ohj-pHWghe
Challenges & Operational Learnings
The biggest challenge during execution was scale.
Interest around the Zcash booth significantly exceeded our initial expectations. Between wallet setup, onboarding questions, merch distribution, media coverage, and general attendee engagement, multiple activities were happening simultaneously for long periods of time.
One major operational insight came immediately after my presentation. There was no dedicated Q&A segment, which meant a large number of attendees moved directly to the booth with overlapping questions at the same time. While this created strong engagement, it also increased pressure on onboarding flow and support coordination.
In future executions, a structured post-presentation Q&A session would help absorb common questions earlier, improve attendee understanding, and reduce congestion around onboarding stations.
The intensity of booth activity also made it difficult to conduct interviews efficiently during the main event itself. One important takeaway was that pre-event and post-event mixers are far better environments for deeper interviews and ecosystem conversations than the event floor during peak activity.
Operationally, the summit also reinforced the importance of:
- larger support teams for high-attendance events
- more accurate merchandise budgeting
- stronger logistics planning before execution
- better contributor compensation planning during high-intensity activations
Despite the operational pressure, the team adapted quickly during the event by restructuring attendee flow into separate onboarding, support, and engagement stations, which significantly improved coordination and attendee experience.
These learnings will directly improve future Zcash ecosystem activations and event execution going forward.
Biggest Wins
One of the most impactful moments throughout the summit was hearing attendees repeatedly say:
“This is my first time hearing about Zcash.”
This reinforced the importance of ecosystem visibility and regional representation.
The summit created:
- meaningful conversations around financial privacy
- deeper understanding of privacy beyond speculation or misconceptions
- strong contributor interest
- engagement from builders and creators
- direct onboarding opportunities
- increased visibility for Zcash within a major African Web3 environment
The level of post-event interest exceeded expectations, particularly from attendees interested in contributing directly to the ecosystem.
What Happens Next
The summit generated continued momentum beyond the event itself.
Post-event follow-up has included:
- ongoing contributor inquiries via DMs
- onboarding discussions with interested participants
- plans for a structured onboarding workshop in collaboration with ZecHub
The success of this initiative has also led to invitations for future blockchain events, including:
- Blockfest Africa, Lagos 2026
- Abia Web3 and Digital Economy Conference 2026
- UniAbuja Blockchain Event
- Ekiti Blockchain Week
- ETHWomen, Toronto 2026
These invitations signal growing interest in having Zcash represented within both regional and international blockchain conversations.
Acknowledgements & Ecosystem Support
Special appreciation to the @ZCG Zcash Community Grants committee for supporting this initiative and making Zcash’s presence at the summit possible.
Many thanks to my amazing team members @Omegaonchain @UknowZork_12 @missfifi0x , they made this whole event seem effortless. I look forward to working with everyone again.
Additional thanks to several ecosystem contributors whose support strengthened execution before and during the event:
@theKroy for providing last-minute booth panel design support and assisting with onboarding activity during the summit itself.
@squirrel for supporting faucet logistics.
@dismad for assisting with ZEC liquidity support for onboarding and P2P activity during faucet interruptions.
@ryan.taylor and @readymouse for strategic guidance and operational advice before the event, which helped improve preparation and execution quality.
This initiative reflected a broader ecosystem effort, and that support played an important role in the success of the event.
Conclusion
The Women in DeFi Summit 2026 demonstrated strong curiosity around financial privacy when conversations are made accessible, practical, and community-driven.
This initiative positioned Zcash within a high-attendance Web3 environment, introduced new audiences to privacy-focused tools and ideas, and created continued contributor interest beyond the event itself.
The summit also revealed a major regional visibility gap around Zcash despite strong audience alignment with conversations around privacy, ownership, and financial freedom. For many attendees, this was their first direct introduction to the ecosystem, highlighting significant opportunity for continued presence within African Web3 spaces.
More importantly, the event reinforced that event-led onboarding is proving to be a highly effective strategy for expanding awareness, participation, and ecosystem presence for Zcash.
