Switzerland-based Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) has announced that it has launched a fund to support African blockchain startups at an early stage.

JUST IN: Crypto Valley Venture Capital Launches African Blockchain Early Stage Fund

➡️ @CV_Labs Launching an Africa-focused fund #blockchain The startups, the investor announced on Monday at the Blockchain Hub adjacent to the World Economic Forum. @DavosSwitzerland. pic.twitter.com/OvGbzQ0BSF

— Layer (@TheLayerDotXYZ) 23 May 2022

Over the next four years, the structure will invest in 100 startups each allocating $10-50 million, most of which are assumed to be from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt.

CV VC has supported 12 teams so far. Specifically, Leading House Africa from Nigeria and Mazzuma, a mobile payment platform from Ghana, which will allow land to be registered in a distributed ledger.

According to a report by CV VC and Standard Bank, in the first quarter, the annual growth rate of funding for blockchain startups across the continent was 11 times higher than for venture capital investment as a whole.

In the January-March period, blockchain startups in the region raised $91 million, up 1668 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Mara from Nigeria/Kenya, Jambo from Congo and Afriex from Nigeria received $63 million in funding in the second quarter.

At the end of 2021, the share of African blockchain startups in attracting investment globally was 0.5%.

Gideon Greaves, Managing Director of VC Africa, said in an interview with Cointelegraph that the lack of legacy infrastructure in the region gives blockchain startups an edge because of the opportunity to “fill the gap” with fast and innovative technologies.

According to the top executive, in the next five years, the region will take a leading position in the profits of venture capital funds, with a focus on blockchain. In the report, analysts predicted that unicorns would emerge in the industry in the next two to three years.

Recall that in 2019, former head of Twitter Jack Dorsey said that Africa will determine the future of Bitcoin.

Earlier, KuCoin analysts calculated that the average monthly number of crypto transactions in the region increased by 1386.7 percent in 2021.