Cameroon Ejara closes $ 2 million round of funding, New Zealand Easy Crypto raises $ 12 million

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Cameroon-based financial services platform Ejara has raised a $ 2 million funding round led by Coinshares Ventures and Anthemis Group to help Africans protect their money Easy Cryptos funding will be used to grow over new customer markets in Southeast Asia and other countries in the southern hemisphere are in need of products and services, she added. Janine Grainger, co-founder and CEO of the company, told Blockworks Cameroon that Ejara is raising $ 2 million

Cameroon Financial services platform Ejara has raised a $ 2 million funding round led by Coinshares Ventures and Anthemis Group, the company said Thursday.

Other investors include Mercy Corps Ventures, Lateral Capital, LoftyInc Capital Management and NetX Fund, as well as a group of angel investors including Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier, Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz and AngelLists Socially Financed Fund.

By 2030, Africa will represent one of the largest economic regions in the world, and despite nearly 25% of the continent’s population, French-speaking African startups have attracted less than 1% of venture capital from the tech scene. African, Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares said in a statement.

The company was founded in 2020 and is based in French-speaking Africa, in particular Cameroon, and adapts its platform to African markets. The name Ejara derives from the Bambara dialect and means lion, which coincides with their mission to put power in the hands of the people, the company said.

The funding will be used for expansion and growth strategies, Nelly Chatue-Diop, founder of Ejara, told Blockworks in an interview. Since its launch, the platform has grown 25% month over month for its user base and increased transaction volume by 35% over the same period, added Chatue-Diop.

We want to develop as quickly as possible, said Chatue-Diop. We started with crypto but aim to add stocks and fractional stocks, commodities and bonds and US foreign stocks. In order for us to grow quickly, we need more technology, growth and focus on support, she said.

Ejara started in Cameroon, but has diversified into Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Senegal as well as in the French-speaking diaspora in Europe and North America thanks to its partnership with Moonpay, a indicated the company.

The mission is to protect the money of the African people, said Chatue-Diop.

It is about protecting their assets, diversifying their savings and growing their assets. Historically, when you have savings in Africa, where do you invest? The banks might give you 1%, but you are at the mercy of closing them down and leaving with your money, she added.

Many Africans invest in real estate as a way to store their wealth, but when someone has to abandon their home and quickly fly out of their area, they cannot take their real estate with them, Chatue noted. Diop. But, with platforms like Ejara, people can take their bitcoin and digital assets anywhere, she said.

We are at the mercy of inflation, but diversification into bitcoin and other assets will protect people from their currency degradation, Chatue-Diop said.

Easy Crypto Raises $ 12 Million to Grow in Southern Hemisphere

New Zealand-based Easy Crypto has closed its $ 12 million Series A funding round led by Nuance Connected Capital, the company said on Wednesday.

The lead investor in this cycle is state backed, which means the New Zealand government is supporting and funding Nuance Connected Capital and, in turn, indirectly supporting the crypto ecosystem, said Janine Grainger, co-founder. and CEO of Easy Crypto in an interview with Blockages. This was the company’s first fundraiser and prior to this Series A, Easy Zero was fully primed, she added.

The cycle was fifty percent oversubscribed and includes investments from third parties, including Indonesia-based Pathfinder and GDP Venture pension provider. In addition, US companies Hutt Capital, Icehouse Ventures, Even Capital and Seven Peaks Ventures also participated in the round.

Easy Crypto co-founders Janine and Alan Grainger

Easy Crypto is a retail platform founded three years ago by siblings Janine and Alan Grainger. The platform offers customers the ability to trade over 150 cryptocurrencies and has recorded more than $ 750 million in sales and has multiplied its users more than five times in the past year, the company said.

Currently, it’s available in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and the Philippines, Grainger said. But the funding will be used to expand into new customer markets in Southeast Asia and other countries in the southern hemisphere that need products and services, she added.

Jacquelyn Melinek

Jacquelyn Melinek is a Houston-based journalist who covers funds and digital asset markets. She previously reported on energy markets for S&P Global Platts and Bloomberg News and is published in more than 65 news organizations. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Media and Journalism.

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