Brand Times

Top Menu

  • Home
  • Advert Rates
  • Contact us
  • About us

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Brand News
    • What’s New
    • Campaign
    • CSR
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Insights
  • Industry
    • Autobrands
    • Energy
  • Special Report
  • LifeStyle
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Food
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Home
  • Advert Rates
  • Contact us
  • About us

logo

Header Banner

Brand Times

  • Home
  • Brand News
    • What’s New
    • Campaign
    • CSR
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Insights
  • Industry
    • Autobrands
    • Energy
  • Special Report
  • LifeStyle
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Food
    • Movies
    • Music
Technology
Home›Technology›How MARA Raised $23M To Build Africa’s Portal To The Crypto Economy

How MARA Raised $23M To Build Africa’s Portal To The Crypto Economy

By Brand Times
May 12, 2022
83
0
Share:

MARA, a Pan-African crypto exchange, has announced $23 million in funding from Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research (FTX), Distributed Global, TQ Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, Huobi Ventures, Day One Ventures, Infinite Capital, DAO Jones (investment DAO backed by Mike Shinoda, Steve Aoki and Disclosure), and nearly 100 other crypto investors, and angels including Amit Bhatia and Hamad Alhoimaizi.

In addition, MARA has also announced a partnership with the Central African Republic, which just passed a bill legalizing Bitcoin as legal tender. As part of this partnership, MARA will become the official crypto partner of the Central African Republic and an advisor to the President on crypto strategy and planning.

MARA’s launch comes at a critical inflection point in Sub-Saharan Africa. Political and economic instability has led to devaluation of currencies across the region, while the current centralized financial system continues to present ongoing obstacles to the development of both local economies and individuals. As a result, food prices have doubled to tripled in some areas and created record-breaking interest rates. These tired systems have prompted a dire need for a decentralized alternative.

MARA’s mission is to become the portal to the crypto economy for the African population. While cutting-edge technologies such as cryptocurrency have shown incredible promise among Sub-Saharan Africa’s predominantly young and technologically-native population, there are considerable hurdles to using them. Many existing global exchanges cannot operate in the region due to regulatory challenges as well as difficulty reaching the African consumer in an authentic way. These barriers to access significantly restrict both the number of people who can participate in the crypto economy and the potential uses for digital currency in the region.

The MARA suite of products addresses a variety of essential crypto-finance needs while complying with local regulations and being built authentically for the African audience. MARA’s products include:

● MARA Wallet – a brokerage app offering the crypto-curious user a friendly, distilled experience through which they can buy, send, sell and withdraw both fiat and crypto assets instantly and without any prior crypto knowledge.
● Pro-Exchange – a full-feature cryptocurrency platform focused on experienced users that offers a comprehensive suite of trading options and technical analysis tools.
● MARA Chain – a layer-1 blockchain, powered by the native MARA token, that gives savvy developers a place to build decentralized applications that will help shape the future of the African crypto economy.

The MARA executive team is led by Chi Nnadi, Lucas Llinás Múnera, Dearg OBartuin, and Kate Kallot, and is joined by board advisors Kojo Annan and Tatiana Koffman.

“MARA’s mission is to facilitate a more equitable distribution of capital by providing a decentralized alternative that spans across tribes, class, cultures, and countries,” says Chi Nnadi, co-founder and CEO of MARA. “Our goal is to close the gap in opportunities for Sub-Saharan individuals and establish a financial infrastructure that they can build their lives upon.”

Unlike its competitors from North America and Europe, MARA’s onboarding, support, and ecosystem reflects the needs of Africans. KYC/AML is compliant to global standards, and is compatible with international financial regulations. Customer support is easily accessed and will be available in both local and international languages.

“We are pleased to partner with MARA as it embarks on building a digital financial system for Sub-Saharan Africa,” says Schuster Tanger, Co-Founder of TQ Ventures. “With the right resources, this region has potential for mass adoption of cryptocurrency. To that end, the local knowledge and specialized skills of the MARA team is quite promising.”

MARA will initially launch in Kenya, Nigeria, and surrounding regions. The MARA Wallet app will be available in the App Store and Google Play stores. Pre-registered users will join a queue to enable early access on a first-come, first-served basis. Users can jump up the queue by referring others, and earn crypto rewards by doing so, while increasing their odds of winning additional prizes and rewards in the process. Once onboarded, the MARA Wallet will enable users to invest in crypto and send money to their family members in real time, without processing times or delays.

TagsMARA
Previous Article

April 2022 Edition: Nigerian Bank and Insurance ...

Next Article

Stanbic IBTC Announces N15B Infrastructure Fund Series ...

Share:

Related articles More from author

  • Technology

    Jumia unveils white paper on Nigerian Mobile Trends 2017

    April 20, 2017
    By Brand Times
  • Technology

    Facebook Launches Community Accelerator programme, Calls for Entries

    March 13, 2020
    By Brand Times
  • Technology

    NCC, NJI Reiterate Need for Speedy Adjudication of Telecoms Disputes, Cyber security

    November 7, 2016
    By Brand Times
  • Technology

    Robotic Deliveries To Hit 20 Billion By 2030: Study

    March 19, 2020
    By Brand Times
  • Technology

    WhatsApp Accelerates Its Business Focus

    December 24, 2020
    By Brand Times
  • Technology

    Samsung Looks Ahead to 6G

    July 16, 2020
    By Brand Times

Leave a reply Cancel reply

  • Insights

    Tech PR Firm Creates Mentorship Opportunities for Four Tech Start-Ups

  • Brand News

    Ecobank Group Appoints Alain Nkontchou As Chairman

  • Brand News

    Love Lagos Campaign Electrifies Notting Hill Carnival

Recent Posts

  • LiveBIc Clinches First Prize At MarkHack 1.0, As Eko Innovation Centre and GDM Group Call for Technological Innovation to Disrupt Marketing Landscape May 21, 2022
  • Airtel’s Subsidiary, SmartCash PSB Commences Operation in Nigeria May 20, 2022
  • Jumia Expands Operations into Healthcare, Launches e-doctor May 20, 2022
  • Understanding The Emotional Impact Of Music On Advertising May 19, 2022
  • Crypto: The New Counterculture That Cannot Be Ignored May 19, 2022

Categories

  • Autobrands (68)
  • Awards (41)
  • Brand News (1,080)
  • Business (341)
  • Campaign (179)
  • CSR (137)
  • Educational (8)
  • Energy (24)
  • Entertainment (77)
  • Fashion (5)
  • Fashion & Lifestyle (18)
  • Food (22)
  • Health (12)
  • Industry (26)
  • Insights (297)
  • Interviews (3)
  • Life Style (69)
  • Movies (23)
  • Music (33)
  • people (8)
  • Special Report (222)
  • Sport (8)
  • Sports (36)
  • Technology (324)
  • Travel (10)
  • uncategorized (12)
  • What's New (138)

Quick Credit

  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • LiveBIc Clinches First Prize At MarkHack 1.0, As Eko Innovation Centre and GDM Group Call ...

    By Brand Times
    May 21, 2022
  • Airtel’s Subsidiary, SmartCash PSB Commences Operation in Nigeria

    By Brand Times
    May 20, 2022
  • Jumia Expands Operations into Healthcare, Launches e-doctor

    By Brand Times
    May 20, 2022
  • Understanding The Emotional Impact Of Music On Advertising

    By Brand Times
    May 19, 2022
  • Crypto: The New Counterculture That Cannot Be Ignored

    By Brand Times
    May 19, 2022
  • Indomie to Excite Consumers in Cash for Scholarship Promo

    By Brand Times
    March 10, 2017
  • 10 Things You Should Know About Big Brother Naija

    By Brand Times
    November 30, 2016
  • TECNO launches Phantom 6 and Phantom 6 Plus in Nigeria

    By Brand Times
    October 3, 2016
  • Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards Revealed 2017 Nominees

    By Brand Times
    December 15, 2016
  • HR Leaders Must Develop Dynamic Job Models to Ensure Productivity In The Future – PwC

    By Brand Times
    November 20, 2016
  • Alisha Ross
    on
    November 6, 2020

    Jumia Partners Standard Chartered, Samsung, Others For Black Friday Sales

  • Mujahid Ibrahim
    on
    September 16, 2020

    10 Things You Should Know About Big Brother Naija

  • Getting noticed on the Internet - Digital Marketing for Small Business - SMS Marketing Blog - ...
    on
    August 27, 2020

    Small Business Marketing Ideas That Can Make A Difference Today

  • Gerald santos ML
    on
    August 22, 2020

    Snapchat Launches First Full Body Tracking Lenses

  • Sodiq
    on
    June 11, 2020

    Indomie Launches ‘Indomitables Magnet Promo’

About us

Brand Times Official Logo

Brandtimes is the number one platform for latest brand news. Brandtimes showcase all the happenings in the brand world. The present, the past and the future are all about time, Brand Times takes the world on a journey of fun, education, information and exclusive brand news.

Recent Posts

  • LiveBIc Clinches First Prize At MarkHack 1.0, As Eko Innovation Centre and GDM Group Call for Technological Innovation to Disrupt Marketing Landscape May 21, 2022
  • Airtel’s Subsidiary, SmartCash PSB Commences Operation in Nigeria May 20, 2022
  • Jumia Expands Operations into Healthcare, Launches e-doctor May 20, 2022
  • Understanding The Emotional Impact Of Music On Advertising May 19, 2022
  • Crypto: The New Counterculture That Cannot Be Ignored May 19, 2022

Follow us