To support creative blockchain solutions in Africa, StarkWare, the development company behind the industry-leading Ethereum scaling solution Starknet, is establishing a US $4 million venture fund.
Zero-knowledge proof technology is used by the blockchain technology company StarkWare. With investors like Sequoia and Coatue Management supporting it, the company is valued at US $8 billion and most recently raised US$100 million in a Series D round.
Under the direction of Moroccan investor and entrepreneur Kheireddine Kamal, the company’s US $4 million Africa-focused venture fund will support small teams that are in the pre-seed or seed stages and intend to launch their projects on Starknet.
Applications for grants range from US $150,000 for early-stage startups to several hundred thousand dollars for more established teams. StarkWare will ultimately evaluate all grantees for investment, usually up to US $500,000 but sometimes for larger sums.
According to Kamal, the fund is searching for blockchain-related projects in African nations with relevant local populations and economic circumstances that could spur adoption, such as high inflation, volatile exchange rates, or a lack of financial inclusion.
“For much of the blockchain industry, talk of financial inclusion for the unbanked and benefits for Africa has never got beyond virtue signaling. We’ve decided it’s time for the next phase, and we’re putting our money where our mouths are,” he said.
“For Africa, Web3 is not just another technology; it’s the continent’s gateway to self-sovereignty. We’ll see use cases that don’t occur to someone in London or New York, for whom blockchain is a nice-to-have. They’ll arise from the need-to-have.”
Since Starknet is currently an L2 over Ethereum and intends to function over Bitcoin as well, he continued, it is an especially intriguing route to blockchain.
“This can be great for Africa as it can mean that the “scaling squared” approach also means a “liquidity squared” approach,” said Kamal.
South Africa, East Africa, and several West African nations are among the targeted regions. According to Kamal, this initiative guarantees that African builders have the resources to carry out their vision and the assistance required to scale internationally by fusing funding, mentorship, and extensive technical knowledge.
