According to a source, Mara, an Africa-focused crypto firm, has acquired $23 million in investment to construct a pan-African cryptocurrency market with pan. In addition to Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, Distributed Global, TQ Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, Huobi Ventures, Day One Ventures, and Infinite Funding were among the investors in the startup’s fundraising round. Angel investors such as Amit Bhatia and Hamad Alhoimaizi also participated in the investment round. In addition, the round is claimed to have attracted roughly 100 crypto investors. According to VentureBeat, Mara will first launch in Kenya, Nigeria, and the neighbouring territories.
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 consultant to the CAR president. After its parliamentary body voted in favour of a crypto law in late April, the CAR became the first African country to embrace bitcoin as its reference currency.
The startup’s CEO, Chi Nnandi, stated that the future crypto exchange will improve Africa’s competitiveness following Mara’s successful fundraiser. He elaborated:
“A decentralised 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.”
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 old telecommunications infrastructure as proof that the African nation isn’t ready to embrace cryptocurrency.
