HORIZON INVESTMENT SUMMIT | Women Investors | Sharufa Walker on Blockchain, land, and real estate

Summary

Shua Rashid Walker, CEO and co-founder of Welcome Home, introduces a fractional real estate solution aimed at empowering marginalized communities in Africa to own assets through blockchain technology. The company focuses on land acquisition, community development, and sustainability, utilizing digital deeds, smart contracts, and real estate-backed NFTs. Walker's journey into investment began unconventionally during the pandemic, leading to the creation of a blockchain node on the Avalanche protocol. The venture seeks to disrupt barriers and secure investments using emerging technologies, addressing community distrust and championing opportunities for investments, despite funding disparities faced by black women in tech.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Shua Rashid Walker is the CEO and co-founder of Welcome Home, a company that focuses on fractional real estate solutions in Africa.
• 🌍 The company's mission is to empower marginalized communities to own real-world assets, particularly through land acquisition and community development.
• 💡 Welcome Home leverages blockchain technology to simplify and verify real estate exchanges, using digital deeds, smart contracts, and real estate-backed NFTs.
• 🚀 Shua's journey into investment started unconventionally during the pandemic, with a deep dive into crypto, blockchain, and web 3 technologies.
• 🌱 Shua and a friend created a node on the Avalanche blockchain protocol to disrupt barriers to entry and start a savings plan for their community.
• 🔍 An opportunity in Africa led Shua to realize the potential for community and cultural impact beyond just personal investment.
• 🔗 Shua combined her experience with web 3 and blockchain to explore how emerging technologies can fuel and secure investments.
• 🔒 There is a focus on using technology to address distrust within communities and ensure the authenticity of exchanges.
• 👩‍💼 As a woman in tech and a second-time founder, Shua has faced disparities in being automatically counted out and held to different expectations compared to white male counterparts.
• 💼 Shua previously built a company with angel investment and is now navigating the venture funding landscape, recognizing disparities from a funding perspective.
• 💡 The script highlights the broader challenges and opportunities in the tech and investment space, especially for underrepresented groups.

Q & A

Who is Shua Rashid Walker and what is her role at Welcome Home?

Shua Rashid Walker is the CEO and co-founder of Welcome Home, a fractional real estate solution that empowers marginalized communities to own real-world assets on the African continent.

What does Welcome Home focus on in terms of real estate?

Welcome Home focuses on land acquisition, community development, and sustainability, powered by blockchain technology.

How does Welcome Home leverage blockchain technology in its operations?

Welcome Home leverages blockchain technology by fractionalizing, simplifying, and verifying real estate exchanges on-chain, using digital deeds, smart contracts, regenerative finance principles, and real estate-backed NFTs.

What was Shua's unconventional and non-traditional journey into investment?

Shua's journey into investment began during the pandemic when she pivoted and started learning about crypto, blockchain, and web 3, eventually creating a node on the Avalanche blockchain protocol.

How did Shua's initial investment opportunity in Africa evolve?

Shua initially saw the opportunity as a personal investment for her family and close network, but she discovered it was about the community and culture, leading her to bring the investment to a larger audience.

What is Shua's perspective on using emerging technologies for investments?

Shua believes in using emerging technologies to fuel investments and secure them, with a particular interest in providing authenticity and security in exchanges to address distrust within communities.

What challenges does Shua face as a woman building in the tech space?

As a woman, Shua faces disparities in being automatically counted out when entering a room as a black woman and the expectation to be further along in her journey compared to a white male counterpart.

How does Shua perceive the funding landscape for startups in the tech space?

Shua has observed that during the funding bubble around 2021-2022, many companies were funded based on the founder's profile rather than traction or a well-thought-out plan.

What is Shua's background in entrepreneurship before Welcome Home?

Shua is a second-time founder and had previously built a company with an angel investment before venturing into the technical space with Welcome Home.

How does Shua's experience with Welcome Home reflect her commitment to community and culture?

Shua's experience shows her commitment to community and culture by transforming an initial personal investment opportunity into a larger initiative to empower marginalized communities through blockchain-based real estate solutions.

What is Shua's view on the importance of authenticity in real estate exchanges?

Shua believes that leveraging emerging technologies to ensure the authenticity of real estate exchanges is crucial for building trust and security within communities.