Millicent is a blockchain-based digital financial company with a mission to make financial services accessible to the approximately 1.7 billion marginalized and unbanked people across the globe.
The Visionary Behind Millicent
Stella Dyer, the cofounder and CEO of Millicent, is driven by a desire to empower the disenfranchised. Her journey began in Nigeria during the Biafra war, leading her to the U.K. as a young refugee. Experiencing financial struggles firsthand motivated her to build a business that helps the poor.
After earning an MBA from Harvard Business School and working in mainstream finance, Dyer switched her focus to the charity sector. Her family’s Igbo culture, which places importance on community above individual needs, further solidified her commitment to helping others.
A few years back, Dyer identified blockchain technology as a way to potentially transform the financial system for everyday people. She says, “I realized this could be my true calling and dove headfirst into uncovering everything I could about the industry. When it comes to banking and finance, we need evolution, not revolution.”
Dyer has found her life purpose through the work she is doing with Millicent, and wants to help other people do the same. She advises people to stay intellectually stimulated, keep an eye on their work-life balance, and ground themselves in community. “Ask for help, guidance and mentorship whenever you need it,” she continues.
Read also: Experience Fad's Fine African Cuisine
Stella Dyer, Cofounder and CEO of Millicent
Millicent's Mission and Technology
Dyer’s blockchain-based digital financial company, Millicent, is being funded in part by the British government. Her goal is “to build the infrastructure for people-first money,” Dyer says. Through decentralized finance, the company hopes to usher in a new financial paradigm via an open infrastructure that breaks down walled gardens and creates a strong, collaborative foundation for the future of global financial services.
Millicent offers lightning fast money transfers at a fraction of the traditional cost per transaction.
The greatest challenge Dyer faces with Millicent right now is advocating for regulation in the blockchain sector. Many companies in the space argue against her, as they prefer a laissez-faire approach. Dyer feels her personal background as well as practicing yoga and meditation help her to handle these high-stress situations. Dyer is also an avid yogi and yoga instructor.
While many businesses struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic, for Millicent, it was a catalyst. “With the sharp declines in cash use, the world became even more dependent on payment networks that extract huge fees from merchants,” Dyer explains. “For many small businesses, this meant that tough times got even tougher. This inspired people to look for alternative solutions that put them first.”
Read also: The Story Behind Cachapas
The Legacy of Millicent Garrett Fawcett
Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929) was an English social reformer and a leader in advancing the causes of woman suffrage, education, and social reform.
Millicent Garrett Fawcett
Fawcett also worked to end the double standard in the grounds for divorce, to improve women’s rights of guardianship over their children, and to open the legal profession to women.
Early Life
Millicent attended a school run by the aunt of the poet Robert Browning at Blackheath until she was fifteen.
Life’s Work
In 1865, Henry Fawcett entered Parliament as the member from Brighton. A Liberal free-trader, his feminism was derived from his opposition to government regulation. Mrs. Fawcett acted as his secretary and soon added to her education.
Read also: Techniques of African Jewellery
A widow at the age of thirty-seven, Mrs. Fawcett intensified her interest in the cause of women’s rights. Even while she had written about economic topics during the 1870’s, she had continued her interest in the cause of woman suffrage.
As a women’s rights advocate, Mrs. Fawcett argued for equal grounds for divorce and improvement in the rights of women as guardians of children. She was a staunch defender of the family; her championing of the rights of women did not extend to supporting sexual freedom.
When the outbreak of World War I was imminent, the NUWSS held a large peace meeting in London, on August 4, but after the declaration of war, Mrs. Fawcett and most of the membership of the NUWSS called upon women to sustain the vital forces of the nation.
Significance
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett was not flashy or charismatic. She epitomized the type of woman voter who supporters of woman suffrage believed would exercise the privilege responsibly: She was dignified and reliable, conciliatory yet determined.
