In a significant stride towards fostering innovation in the African blockchain ecosystem, Core DAO has announced the launch of the African Innovation Fund, a groundbreaking initiative set to provide a $5 million war chest to supercharge Web3 projects across the continent.
Web3 enthusiasts and innovative builders in Africa are invited to seize this opportunity, as Core DAO aims to support and elevate local projects by addressing challenges such as funding constraints, lack of technical resources, and limited access to localised data and insights.
African Blockchain Landscape Gains Momentum
The African continent is emerging as a key player in the global crypto landscape, with Sub-Saharan Africa recording an estimated $117.1 billion on-chain transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2023, according to Chainalysis’ 2023 Geography of Cryptocurrency report. This surge in blockchain activity is fueled by the continent’s young and tech-savvy demographic, combined with increasing internet access, creating an ideal environment for blockchain adoption.
Driven by a desire to address local challenges, African developers are utilizing blockchain technology to create solutions in areas such as cross-border payments, supply chain management, and financial inclusion. This surge in innovation highlights the potential of the blockchain industry to make a meaningful impact on the continent.
Challenges and Opportunities for African Web3 Builders
Despite the growth in blockchain innovations, African Web3 builders face challenges in onboarding the next billion people into the Web3 space. These challenges include a lack of access to funding, technical resources, and high-level localised data and insights. To overcome these hurdles, builders are actively seeking solutions to facilitate a smoother onboarding process into the Web3 industry.
Core African Innovation Fund: Addressing Challenges Head-On
In response to these challenges, Core DAO has established the Core African Innovation Fund, adopting a long-term, user-friendly, and sustainable approach. The fund aims to provide support in the form of grants, technical resources, builder programs, partnerships with accelerators and institutions, connections to venture capitalists, and potential investments. Notably, the fund will focus exclusively on local projects that demonstrate a strong commitment to delivering tangible value to their communities.
The initiative goes beyond financial support, aiming to connect key builders with established blockchain players, including venture capitalists, to empower the next generation of decentralized applications and protocols. The strategic partnerships forged through the fund seek to create a more decentralized and interconnected future for the African blockchain ecosystem, ensuring the promotion of long-term success and playing a pivotal role in driving innovation and growth.
Calling All Builders: CoreDAO’s Commitment to the African Web3 Space
CoreDAO is actively seeking to support projects in various sectors, including gaming, stablecoins, cross-border payments, supply chain, real estate, DeFi-backed loans, credit rating systems, decentralized database/file storage, healthcare, NFTs, and more. The Core African Innovation Fund is positioned as a driving force aligned with Core’s long-term vision, aiming to unlock the full potential of decentralized projects in the African blockchain space.
Core Chain’s Unique Position in Web3 Development
Core Chain, as a leading Layer 1, stands at the intersection of Bitcoin’s principles and Ethereum’s composability. This unique fusion positions Core Chain as a first-of-its-kind “Bitcoin-aligned” chain, offering a platform deeply rooted in the early visions of Web3 from 2008. With a commitment to decentralization, scalability, and security, Core Chain is actively contributing to making Web3’s mass adoption a reality.
The Core African Innovation Fund signifies a positive development for the African blockchain industry, serving as a catalyst to propel the next generation of builders to success. As the continent embraces its role in the global blockchain landscape, initiatives like these play a crucial role in nurturing local talent and driving sustainable growth within the African Web3 ecosystem.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard.