Together with multiple partners including Unicorn Growth Capital, Ape Unit, Echo VC, Uncovered Fund, and Flori Ventures, mobile blockchain ecosystem Celo has launched a Web 3 Fund program that calls for Web2 founders to apply for the Celo Africa Web3 Fund by July 15, 2022.
The program will support African startups in payments, remittances, digital assets, crypto, savings and lending, and any other related financial services. With this program, Celo seeks to foster an inclusive financial system that promotes prosperity for everyone.
According to Umar Sebyala, the Ecosystem Lead, Celo, Uganda, startups in Web2 that will participate in the program will be able to advance to Web3 and better yet access better business opportunities such as strategy, investment, and mentorship that can help scale their businesses.
“We are running this Web3 fund to help founders in Web2 with a desire to have capabilities in the Web3 and blockchain space such that they are able to tap into the opportunities therein. Ugandan startups looking at building on the blockchain can expect to benefit from an in-person workshop with a product and fund strategy component along with access to funding from partner Venture Capital (VC) firms,” he said.
Umar also added that blockchain is becoming a popular element in innovative solutions being presented recently therefore the best way to introduce blockchain to people is through startups that are launching these solutions every day.
“We are interested in bringing the benefits of blockchain to more people and one way to do that is through startups with products used by the masses for use cases like savings, remittances, lending, payments, etc,” Umar said.
Through its VC partners, the Celo Africa Web3 Fund will contribute to financial investments. It will also provide technical assistance to startups through the Celo Developer Guild and its technical partners, including Tatum and Ape Unit. This will enable Web2 founders across Africa to adopt a strategy and scale their businesses to achieve deeper financial inclusion, lower transaction costs, and more affordable credit.
The Celo Africa Web3 Fund will include an in-person workshop across 5 African countries that is, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
The first workshop will be hosted on July 26 in Nairobi, Kenya, Nigeria will follow hosting in August, Ghana in September, Uganda in October, and South Africa in November.
To apply for the Web3 Fund program, please visit Celo Africa Web3 Fund (hs-sites.com)