Stellar Development Foundation announced a new investment in a Nigeria-based startup. Cowrie receives the money to grow remittance corridors and promote partnerships in the blockchain ecosystem. This expansion helps the startup improve collaborations with regulators, too.
Faster Expansion for Nigeria Blockchain Ecosystem
Many companies behind big blockchain projects have started investment funds to help the new startups. They plan to invest in these startups to improve the speed of adoption and industry growth. Besides, when small companies succeed in making and distributing their services, investments will have an excellent return for big companies.
Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is one of the most active investors with these plans. The recent $750K investment in Cowrie Integrated systems shows their ambition for helping small blockchain companies.
Cowrie is a fintech startup from London that has offices in Lagos, Nigeria. It focuses on payment solutions and tries to provide as many payment corridors for individuals and enterprises in Africa. Their initial focus is on Nigeria because it’s the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. The new investment helps Crownie expand services faster in emerging markets.
The solutions enable individuals and enterprises to have payments internationally even if their national currencies are not supported globally. The most crucial solution from Crownie is helping the unbanked people in Nigeria (more than half of the citizens) benefit from financial services.
Each new investment comes with opportunities for growing a startup. Crownie will surely benefit from SDF investment and aim for bigger goals. Cowrie co-founder Gbubemi Agbeyegbe said:
“Nigeria is the world’s fifth-biggest destination for international remittances with the seventh-largest population globally, but the traditional money transfer process remains costly, inefficient, and impossible for many. The Stellar Development Foundation has been a vital partner in our mission to bring efficient cross-border payments to West Africa. SDF’s investment and support will allow us to continue building upon our 2020 growth and explore new market possibilities.”
Regulatory is still the biggest challenge for the growth of blockchain startups. Blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation still needs many improvements in Nigeria. But Crownie is trying its best to work with regulators and become available for average users.
SDF Enterprise Fund aims to remove the growth burdens and helps startups to expand faster. It focuses on innovative solutions that help significant communities. The latest investment in Crownie will continue as a partnership and assisting them in regulatory challenges, too. It’s the second investment in 2021 from SDF. The first was a $5 Million investment in Wyre. SDF has invested more than $15 Million in blockchain startups from its launch in 2020.
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