UNAJUA S11 EP1: How does the African VC community frame the Blockchain Africa opportunity? feat. Hope Ditlhakanyane and Nzwisisa Chidembo

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This is the first episode of a three-part UNAJUA Series dealing with investing in African blockchain tech. And we're stoked because it's the first to feature two voices.

The first voice you'll hear is that of Hope Ditlhakanyane. Hope is a venture capital pro helping African tech founders land the resources and support they need to build and scale their startups. Hope is particularly committed to backing woman founders, and to that end, she's an active woman-focussed angel investor. She currently serves as Head of Venture Sourcing at the Pan-African investor, venture builder and accelerator company, Founders Factory Africa.

Joining Hope on the mic is her work colleague and friend, Nzwisisa Chidembo. Nzwi is the Head of Engineering at Founders Factory Africa, and over the last few years, he's helped build and scale numerous tech-enabled ventures across the continent. He's also an entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience across various industries such as telecoms, e-commerce, biotechnology, retail and, more recently, blockchain tech.

In their respective roles at Founders Factory Africa, Hope and Nzwi have recently collaborated to facilitate VC investment in two promising African blockchain tech startups. Nzwi was an early adopter of Bitcoin and other blockchain applications on the private investment side of things. He now has a growing personal portfolio of blockchain investments. Meanwhile, Hope is a confessed late-joiner to the space both as a private and corporate investor. But, she's keenly making up for the lost time by finessing smart blockchain investments in her personal capacity while refining her playbook for backing the space as an institutional VC.

In this episode, Hope and Nzwi reflect on how Africa's VC industry currently frames blockchain tech as a viable investment opportunity.  

Click here (or on the microphone icon on the right of your screen) to leave us a 60-sec voice note with your reactions to any of the topics raised in the UNAJUA Series. (We will include some of your audio takes in future follow-up episodes.)

Useful References:

REPORT: State of the Crypto Industry Report 2021 by Nansen

ARTICLE: The outlook for crypto and blockchain in Africa by Dr Desné Masie (African Business)

PODCAST: ATRUC S2 EP2: Convening 'Blockchain Africa' proponents with Sonya Kuhnel by African Tech Roundup

ARTICLE: The role of cryptocurrencies in sub-Saharan Africa by Bitange Ndemo (Brookings)

Editorial Disclaimer: While the Celo Community Fund supports this UNAJUA Series, African Tech Roundup maintains complete editorial oversight. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the African Tech Roundup or the presenting sponsor, Celo Community Fund.

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