EMURGO Africa: Connecting Africa to Cardano and Web3

In a 2022 Chainalysis report, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) was mentioned as the fastest-growing crypto market in the world. From 2020 to 2021, Africa’s cryptocurrency adoption jumped 1,200% and African blockchain companies attracted $304 million in funding during the first half of 2022, a 3x rise from the previous year [1].

While blockchain and Web3 adoption in Africa is on the rise, there is still a relative lack of credible and up-to-date sources for Web3 funding, education, insights, and news in Africa’s blockchain space.

In this blog as part of the “Why EMURGO is a Great Fit” series, we look at EMURGO Africa’s role in solving these problems for Africa’s Web3 community.

There are also details at the bottom of the page If you are interested in learning more about job opportunities at EMURGO Africa.

How EMURGO Africa focuses on Cardano-based solutions to solve social issues

As a regional entity of Cardano blockchain founding entity EMURGO, EMURGO Africa’s vision is to turn Africa’s challenges into opportunities by leveraging the power of the Cardano blockchain to strengthen and develop economic resilience and democratize access to basic needs through socially impactful Web3 solutions.

EMURGO Africa strives to achieve this vision by:

Supporting Web3 solutions through investment and acceleration

EMURGO Africa has embarked on a series of business initiatives to achieve this goal. EMURGO Africa has co-launched Adaverse, an Africa-focused Cardano accelerator that funds, mentors, and accepts Web3 startups year-round. Adverse has already started investing in and accelerating tens of African blockchain startups. These startups are building Web3 solutions directly on or interoperable with Cardano’s blockchain, which is much needed to provide transparency, access, and accountability in Africa’s local economies.

EMURGO Africa has also recently set up a Web3 investment joint venture, EMURGO Kepple Ventures, with leading investment fund Kepple Africa Ventures to further accelerate investing in African Web3 businesses leveraging their professional business networks, including fantasy sports startup FanBants and GameFi startup Skrmiish.

Raising awareness of Cardano through education and community-building

As mentioned, Africa’s blockchain space requires clearer and more reliable sources of information about the latest insights, news, and technological developments in the fast-moving world of blockchain. To provide solutions, EMURGO Africa has launched several initiatives to bring information and awareness about Cardano and Web3 in general, to Africa’s Web3 users including the following:

- Launching NODO, a pan-African news & discovery platform with up-to-date news and education content about Africa’s Web3 industry and startups building on Cardano

- Appointing a former Japanese lawmaker as Strategic Adviser to foster conversations with the public sector about Web3 initiatives

- Signing an MOU with Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria to co-develop a university blockchain textbook, Web3 career training programs for Cardano-related opportunities

- Organizing and promoting community-building African blockchain events to build local Cardano communities, and connect with local tech entrepreneurs

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Interested in working at EMURGO Africa? Apply now

Want to help drive Cardano blockchain adoption in the Middle East & Africa?

Then, apply now to EMURGO Africa by visiting EMURGO Africa’s Careers page here. There are technical and non-technical roles. If you seek a different role, please contact EMURGO Africa.

EMURGO Africa is a subsidiary of EMURGO Middle East & Africa, a regional entity of Cardano founding member EMURGO. EMURGO Africa invests in and accelerates Africa-based Web3 startups to build socially impactful solutions on the Cardano blockchain.

With offices in Dubai, Nairobi, and partner offices across Africa, EMURGO Africa offers fantastic work perks and benefits for its employees including remote working opportunities and a chance to support the development of the Cardano ecosystem in Africa’s Web3 scene.

About EMURGO Middle East & Africa