Core DAO launches a $5 million Africa blockchain fund

Core DAO, the decentralized entity behind the Core Chain protocol, has announced the launch of the Core African Innovation Fund. The fund is worth $5 million, Core Dao said in a Jan. 22 announcement. 

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The details 

• The decentralized autonomous organization hopes to support local blockchain builders and projects across the continent, according to a press release shared with Mariblock.
• The organization added that the fund would be available to African projects through grants, builder programs, technical resources and venture capital investments.

Key quote 

• Rich Rines, an initial contributor at Core DAO, said: 

“Africa is quickly becoming a major hub for crypto and is filled with potential. We are excited to support and help develop that potential with the launch of The Core Africa Innovation Fund.

The fund goes beyond just monetary support. We are aiming to truly nurture the next generation of builders and create a sustainable, interconnected blockchain future within the continent.” 

Dive deeper 

• Mariblock spoke to Brendan Sedo, another initial contributor at Core DAO, to gather more insights on the project’s African initiative. 
• Core DAO’s Africa innovation fund is a hybrid of grants and venture capital investments to help builders develop their products and fund innovation in Africa, Sedo told Mariblock. 
• He added that a major factor that influenced the launch of the fund is the high crypto adoption rate in the region. He said that much of Core DAO’s community is based in Africa. 

“What we are seeing is in regions like Africa, there have been very high adoption rates [of crypto]. We had this very large airdrop event [and] we have a huge community today, a very large portion of which is based in Africa; because we have a large community, we want to encourage builders to build things that solve problems in the region.” 

• As part of its African strategy, the DAO has also hired Oluwashina Peter as its first African contributor, who will collaborate with other contributors in overseeing the fund. Peter is expected to grow Core Chain’s adoption rate on the continent.

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Of note 

• Sedo confirmed that Core DAO already fully funded the $5 million pool. 
• However, when Mariblock asked about the fund’s wallet address for verification, the Core DAO contributor said the team hadn’t considered putting the capital in a separate wallet. He

Be smart: Although Sedo stated that the fund welcomes African builders regardless of the blockchain protocols on which they build, structures like this tend to prioritize products built on the sponsor’s protocol (Core Chain, in this case).