CV VC launches Africa-focused blockchain fund

The Crypto Valley Venture Capital firm, which calls itself CV VC, is launching an Africa-focused fund to back blockchain businesses on the continent. The investors made the disclosure at Blockchain Hub, which is adjacent to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, 23 May 2022.

CV VC launches African blockchain early-stage fund

Africa has yet to exploit its cryptocurrency potential. While Africa has not witnessed a “blockchain mega-deal,” CV VC predicts that crypto unicorns will emerge from the continent in the next two to three years.

CV VC is a pan-African seed investment fund that aims to raise $100 million over the next four years by investing in 100 African startups, as stated in a press release. The company claims that 12 of its investments extend far beyond cryptocurrencies to drive Africa’s future thus far. The investor hopes to gather up to $50 million through the fund.

CV VC has put money into two firms among the 12 that they have already made public: Leading House Africa, a Nigerian company that will use blockchain land registration, and Mazuma, a mobile payments service from Ghana.

According to Olaf Hannemann, co-founder and CIO of CV VC, most startups are anticipated to come from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt. Still, it is receptive to funding bids from throughout the continent.

According to CV VC’s CEO, Africa has all of the tools, drive, and people necessary to establish large businesses that can serve millions of people. Greaves anticipates Africa will become the preferred area for taking advantage of business using blockchain within the next five years.

The CV VC incubation program is a precursor to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) public-private partnership, which aims for CVVC to be the first blockchain-focused Accelerator for Africa. Blockchain and cryptocurrency are being implemented faster in African countries than in other parts of the world.

CV Labs currently provides 22 successful global technology teams with pathways to success. CV Labs is the beating heart of Crypto Valley, Europe’s leading blockchain ecosystem, which is home to 12 unicorns and nearly 1000 blockchain firms as the incubation arm of Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC). The ecosystem, systemically and organically, will nurture Batch_03 of CV Labs Incubation.

Venture funding for African crypto startups surges

On Monday, CV VC released the African Blockchain Report, which outlined the blockchain industry’s rise in Africa. According to the survey, over a year, 11 times more funding for African blockchain startups grew than general African venture investment.

According to the study, Africa is a rapidly developing crypto market that has attracted significant funding from the cryptocurrency industry. Pan-African centralized crypto exchange Mara recently raised $23 million, with Coinbase Ventures and Alameda Research leading the round. Bitcoin has been declared legal currency in the Central African Republic.

According to a new report by blockchain-investment firm Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) and Standard Bank, more venture capital entered the continent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

According to the publication “The African Blockchain Report 2021,” blockchain startups were able to raise $91 million over the first quarter of 2022. This year, compared to 2021’s first quarter, there was a 1,668 percent year-on-year growth in cash inflow (YoY) compared to 2021’s YoY of 149 percent, which increased more than 11 times.

The report claims that while Africa has yet to see a “blockchain mega-deal,” it predicts that unicorns may grow out of the continent’s crypto and blockchain sector as more venture capital seeks opportunities in the region.

Meanwhile, venture capitalists recently invested $23 million to launch a MARA cryptocurrency exchange platform. The exchange will initially operate in Kenya and Nigeria before expanding worldwide to provide a simple mechanism for trading crypto.

The findings of a recent study revealed that the scarcity of financial services infrastructure in Nigeria compelled more people to use bitcoin. According to the research, Nigerians began using crypto as an alternative for storing and transferring assets. Despite economic difficulties and headwinds, cryptocurrency adoption in Africa is growing. According to reports, crypto transactions increased by up to 2,670% in 2022.

The sharp rise in numbers results from the modest values that investors have observed throughout previous eras. The quantity of cryptocurrency transactions in Africa makes up roughly 2.8% of global volumes. Africans made a large proportion of crypto transactions across borders. Users pay significantly less than 0.01% of the overall amount of the transaction in cryptocurrencies because of low costs.

Africa also has a youthful, digitally native population that is familiar with digital currencies and has experienced significant inflation. Africa is a perfect testing ground for the problems that cryptocurrencies aim to address. Africa offers a plethora of benefits that cannot but encourage residents to embrace digital assets in the long run.