Crypto Valley launches fund focused on African blockchain startups

Based in Switzerland, Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) announced the launch of a fund to support African blockchain startups at an early stage.

JUST IN: Crypto Valley Venture Capital Launches African Blockchain Early-Stage Fund

➡️ @CV_Labs is launching a fund focused on African #blockchain startups, the investor announced Monday at the Blockchain Hub adjacent to the World Economic Forum in @Davos, Switzerland. pic.twitter.com/OvGbzQ0BSF

— The Layer (@TheLayerDotXYZ) May 23, 2022

Over the next four years, the fund will invest in 100 startups, allocating $10–50 million each. It is anticipated that the majority will be from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt.

So far CV VC has backed 12 teams. In particular, Leading House Africa from Nigeria, which will enable land registration on a distributed ledger, and Mazzuma — a mobile payments platform from Ghana.

In the first quarter, the annual growth rate of funding for African blockchain startups on the continent was 11 times higher than the overall venture funding, according to the CV VC and Standard Bank report.

From January to March, blockchain startups in the region attracted $91 million, up 1,668% from the same period in 2021. In the second quarter, Mara from Nigeria/Kenya, Jambo from the Congo and Afriex from Nigeria collectively raised $63 million.

By the end of 2021, Africa’s share of global blockchain startup investment stood at 0.5%.

The absence of outdated infrastructure in the region gives blockchain startups an edge, enabling them to “fill the gap” with fast and innovative technologies, said Gideon Grieves, CV VC Africa’s managing director, in an interview with Cointelegraph.

According to the executive, over the next five years the region will assume a leading position in the returns of blockchain-focused venture funds. The analytics in the report forecast unicorns in the sector within the next two to three years.

As reported in 2019, former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey said Africa would determine the future of Bitcoin.

Earlier analyses by KuCoin calculated that in 2021 the region’s average monthly crypto transactions rose by 1,386.7%.

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