The African startup, Mara, recently said it has raised about $23 million in funding from organizations ranging from Coinbase Ventures to individual angel investors like Amit Bhatia and Hamad Alhoimaizi. Mara has also partnered with the Central African Republic (CAR) and will act as an adviser to the country’s president.
Improving Africa’s Competitiveness
An Africa-focused crypto startup, Mara, has raised $23 million in funding to build a so-called pan-African cryptocurrency exchange, according to a report. Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, Distributed Global, TQ Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, Huobi Ventures, Day One Ventures and Infinite Capital participated in the startup’s fundraising.
According to a report by Venture Beat, the funding round also attracted angel investors like Amit Bhatia and Hamad Alhoimaizi. In addition, about 100 crypto investors are said to have participated in the round.
In his comments following Mara’s successful fundraising, the startup’s CEO, Chi Nnandi, is quoted in the report, suggesting that the upcoming platform would boost Africa’s competitiveness. He explained:
A decentralized alternative (which will include but not be limited to finance, art, ownership, infrastructure, and business as a whole) will give Sub-Saharan Africans an alternative to these tired systems. Through this digital financial system — through this freedom — the region will find itself in a much stronger competitive position before other parts of the world.
Mara will advise the president of CAR
According to the Venture Beat report, Mara will initially launch in Kenya, Nigeria and surrounding regions. Meanwhile, the report revealed that Mara has entered into a partnership with the Central African Republic (CAR). As part of this partnership agreement, Mara will become an official crypto partner in the country. Mara will also act as an advisor to the CAR Chairman on matters such as crypto strategy and planning.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the CAR became the first African country to adopt bitcoin as its reference currency after its legislative body voted in favor of a crypto bill in late April.
Nevertheless, many organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have questioned CAR’s decision to adopt bitcoin. Others have pointed to the country’s lagging telecommunications infrastructure as evidence that the African nation may not be ready to embrace crypto.
