A fund has been established by the Africa-focused venture capital (VC) company Echovc to aid blockchain entrepreneurs on the continent. The creator of Echovc, Eghosa Omoigui, argued that investing today allows VCs to come in "at lower entry valuations on average than in recent years," despite the fact that worldwide blockchain funding has been declining over the past year.
Financing Available for Entrepreneurs Using Blockchain-Based Technologies
African blockchain firms will benefit from a $8 million fund recently announced by the pan-African venture capital firm Echovc. The fund referred to as the Echovc Chain will be available to firms who are striving to use the blockchain to solve the problems facing the continent, in lined with the company's blog post.
Echovc's new fund was established at a time when investment for blockchain and cryptocurrency businesses has been falling globally, as mentioned in a Techcabal article. A few business owners have already been forced to sell their firms due to the decline in funding.
Targeting Untapped African Markets
Eghosa Omoigui, the founder and general managing partner at Echovc, is quoted in the report as saying that despite the decline in funding, this is the best time to fund startups because doing so enables the VC "to invest at lower entry valuations on average than in prior years." The founder continued:
"While this has somewhat reduced VC appetite for crypto investing, we continue to remain excited about the useful applications of crypto and blockchain in Africa, and believe that crypto founders in Africa will continue to build for functionality to solve problems in Africa."
Based to the Techcabal study, Echovc has invested more than $41 million in 36 firms worldwide. The VC company has mostly focused in startups in so-called underserved markets in Africa, including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. Among the companies targeted are startups that use blockchain to power essential fintech infrastructure. Decentralized autonomous organizations and businesses with a focus on blockchain functionality are also eligible for funding.
Once the funds have been fully invested, between 12 and 20 additional companies will be included in Echovc's portfolio.