Hashgraph Ventures Backs Hedera Africa Hackathon With $1M Funding
In an effort to accelerate digital transformation and economic inclusion throughout Africa, Abu Dhani-based venture capital firm Hashgraph Ventures has committed US$1 million to the Hedera Africa Hackathon, the largest Web3 innovation event on the continent.
Hashgraph Ventures is a part of the Hashgraph Association, a non-profit organization in Switzerland that supports training, certification, and innovation programs for Hedera-powered solutions. Its mission is to support exceptional high-growth, early-stage ventures and projects that are developing practical blockchain, AI, and deep technology solutions.
In August and October of last year, developers, entrepreneurs, and students from over 20 African cities participated in the inaugural Hedera Africa Hackathon. With a particular emphasis on the convergence of AI, IoT, robotics, and quantum computing, participants were tasked with creating Hedera-powered solutions in important verticals like banking, healthcare, communications, sustainability, agriculture, and manufacturing.
The hackathon recruited 13,000 developers and produced 1,300 project entries by combining online and in-person involvement, making it the biggest decentralized innovation effort in African history.
United Gulf Financial Services’ (UGFS) involvement has increased the total equity investment commitments for the upcoming Hedera Africa Hackathon to US$2 million. The Hashgraph Association and Exponential Science Foundation have also contributed a US$1 million prize pool.
According to Kamal Youssefi, president of The Hashgraph Association, “We are happy that Hashgraph Ventures will be pledging US$1 million to the Hedera Africa Hackathon as this not only reflects their commitment to support scalable, real-world adoption of DLT but also of the success that the Hedera Africa Hackathon has achieved becoming the largest Web3 hackathon globally.”
We think the developer ecosystem in Africa has enormous potential to influence digital inclusion, AI-driven innovation, and decentralized finance in the future. Through collaborations like the one with Hashgraph Ventures, Exponential Science, United Gulf Financial Services, and others, the Hashgraph Association is eager to expand the Web3 ecosystem throughout Africa and the world. This is only the beginning!
