African Blockchain Lab, ABL, has raised $6 million in a series pre-A investment to fund the launch of its crypto wallet VIBRA and boost mass adoption of digital assets in Africa.
According to a press release seen by Nairametrics, the funding round was co-led by a consortium of global investors such as African venture capital firms, Lateral Frontiers VC, CRE Venture Capital, Musha Ventures.
Similarly, the funding round also saw participation from international blockchain investors Dragonfly Capital, Hashkey Capital, SNZ Capital, Fenbushi, Cadenza Capital, Head & Shoulder X, LeadBlock, Hash Global, Bonfire, Krypital, Despace and more.
What they are saying
Commenting on the deal, Vincent Li, co-founder of African Blockchain Lab said the platform was founded with a mission geared towards driving the mass adoption of digital assets and blockchain technologies in Africa. He added that the secured fund from investors will enable the firm provide world-class tech stacks, projects and innovation to the African continent, starting with VIBRA, its first product.
Steven Grin, Managing Partner at Lateral Capital noted that crypto adoption in Africa is growing exponentially. He said, “We believe that crypto can realize its potential as a technology and asset on the continent while also deepening financial access to the millions left out of traditional financial services. We have seen the importance of user-experience and community building when adopting new technologies and we are confident in VIBRA’s management team mission of making crypto a mainstream product for African consumers.”
Expressing excitement to partner with the team at Vibra, Pardon Makumbe, Managing Partner at CRE Venture Capital said African continent has a generational opportunity to build a more collaborative and inclusive financial ecosystem using decentralized technologies, in which all players are winners.
Mia Deng, Partner at Dragonfly Capital also expressed her belief in VIBRA. she said, “Dragonfly has a long history of investing in infrastructure companies for the crypto asset class, from Bybit to Amber Group. We are bullish on the category as trading and investing are typically the first use cases for adoption in any emerging markets, therefore infrastructure companies should be built to facilitate these activities.
“Over the past years we are starting to see the surge of trading in Africa, but we believe this is just the beginning. VIBRA is well-positioned to deliver a great product for day-to-day African users.”
Deng Chao, Managing Director of HashKey Capital noted that cryptocurrency is used to preserve their savings in the face of currency devaluation, make remittances, and carry out merchant transactions. He said, “We always believe Africa has a huge potential for crypto trading. And trading is not only an investment action, it’s also based on local demand for payment and currency stability. VIBRA has a great resource of use cases, which can facilitate them deploying in-app crypto trading and payment. We believe they can fulfill their vision of crypto mass adoption.”
