Namaste Web3 Pune Edition discusses how 'Web3: The Future of the Internet is Upon Us'

CoinDCX and Forbes India hosted the 3rd edition of Namaste Web3, a Web3 awareness initiative in Pune. The theme for this edition was “The Future of the Internet is Upon Us”. Notably, the event brought together over 200 participants, including industry experts, Web3 professionals, web2 professionals, and tech aspirants.

The event started with a masterclass on Solidity - one of the most integral Web3 programming languages, conducted by Yash Sharma, a Blockchain Professional. In his keynote, Varun Dube, Head of Blockchain at Lab45, Wipro Ltd., said, “Big tech companies have been able to grow at a much faster rate than traditional businesses, but the growth of blockchain companies has outpaced big tech companies too. The reason for their rapid success is intrinsic to Web3. Blockchain companies are based on a decentralized system – they run on transparent open sources, which instills trust amongst users. They do not need traditional servers, farms or clouds – they just need smart contracts on any public chain, which lowers their infra cost. All Web3 projects rely on the community – people who use, build and advocate the project. These three factors, deeply inherent to Web3, boost its growth, draw VC interest and gain consumer trust”.

In the first panel discussion, ‘Web2 Limitations Opening New Doors For Web3: A Catalyst for Innovation & Collaboration’, panelists debated the potential of Web3 in bridging the gaps seen in web2, enhancing the existing benefits of web2, and how innovation and collaboration could pave the way for building for billions. The panelists included Arpit Sharma, Managing Director, India, SE Asia & Middle East, NEAR Foundation, Firdosh Sheikh, Co-founder and CEO, DRIFE, Gaurav Arora, SVP, DeFi Initiatives, CoinDCX, and Ravikant Agrawal, Director of Growth, Polygon. Speaking of Web3 in India right now, Arora opines, “The use cases of decentralization branch into finance, gaming, travel, and we have only scratched the surface yet. India has the man power, internet penetration and other ingredients required to contribute to this booming ecosystem and also reap the benefits of it. It is exciting to be at the cusp of this transformation.” 

Meanwhile, speaking of challenges experienced as developers in the Web3 space, Sharma notes, “Web3 has a very niche user base right now, to bring masses to Web3, we need to simplify it…. Instead of creating entry barriers, we have to simplify the language we speak, and communicate better with end users, key decision makers, and even developers.”  

In the fireside chat on ‘Accelerating Web3 Adoption - Taking Web3 to the Masses’, Ravikant Agrawal, Director of Growth, Polygon said, “The first thing that Web3 promises is ownership. It’s the ownership of your data, your ID, and your assets. Second, is decentralization, so any transaction is not gatekept by anybody, and it’s transparent. The third is the programmability of assets. Any kind of assets can be brought into Web3. We can generate a new economy using the programmability aspect.”

The fireside chat was succeeded by the final panel discussion on the theme of “Why diversity matters in Web3?”. The discussion elucidated the importance of diversity – gender, geographical, cultural and economic – in tech talent as the products are global, for a diverse audience, demanding diverse inputs. The panelists included Tarun Katial, Founder and CEO, coto, Swapnika Nag, CEO and Co-founder, Hashmail, Gnana Lakshmi T C, Co-founder, The Phoenix Guild, and Rajbir Kaur Bindra, Associate Vice- President, Human Resources, CoinDCX. 

Speaking of ways to encourage Web3 adoption among women, Katial quoted, “I think mass adoption for women in crypto or in blockchain is very essential. The opportunity that we all have collectively… to get women very early into a product that can involve them in participative ownership is huge. ”

Gnana emphasised, “The need of the hour is education, you can term it as education for developers, education for people, education for non-crypto folks. If everyone at leadership levels or everyone heading to leadership levels realizes that education should be part of anything and everything Web3, I think we’d be in a much better position 5 years down the line.” she said, appealing to the budding Web3 developers and entrepreneurs in attendance.

Namaste Web3 aims to touch upon the role of Web3 in bringing socio-economic changes, navigating the shift from Web2 to Web3, and making India Web3 ready. The previously concluded Delhi and Bangalore editions, along with the recent Pune event, were successful in promoting the awareness around Web3 and facilitated informative and thought-provoking conversations amongst policy makers, blockchain experts, developers, entrepreneurs, students and investors. 

You can find the live coverage of the event here.

Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash