Coinbase Ventures Backed Startup to Build Pan-African Crypto Exchange With $23 Million Capital Raise – According to a source, Mara, an Africa-focused crypto firm, has acquired $23 million in funding to construct a so-called pan-African cryptocurrency market.
Coinbase Ventures, Huobi Ventures, Distributed Global, Alameda Research, TQ Ventures, Day One Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, and Infinite Funding were among the investors in the startup’s capital raising.
According to Venture Beat, angel investors such as Amit Bhatia and Hamad Alhoimaizi participated in the investment round. In addition, the round is claimed to have attracted roughly 100 crypto investors.
The startup’s CEO Chi Nnandi is mentioned in the report as saying that the upcoming platform would improve Africa’s competitiveness in his comments following Mara’s successful financing.
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He elaborated:
Sub-Saharan Africans will have a decentralized alternative to these exhausted institutions (which will include but not be limited to banking, ownership, art, infrastructure, and business as a whole). The region will find itself in a far stronger competitive position than other parts of the world thanks to this digital financial system.
Mara will first launch in Kenya, Nigeria, and the surrounding territories, according to Venture Beat. Meanwhile, according to the article, Mara has formed a cooperation with the Central African Republic (CAR).
As part of the agreement, Mara will become the country’s official cryptocurrency partner. Mara will also serve as a crypto strategy and planning adviser to the CAR president.
After its legislative body voted in support of a crypto bill in late April, the CAR became the first African country to embrace bitcoin as its reference currency, as previously reported.
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Despite this, various institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have raised concerns about CAR’s intention to use bitcoin. Others have cited the country’s aging telecommunications infrastructure as proof that the African nation isn’t ready to embrace cryptocurrency.
