Near Foundation – the Swiss non-profit that oversees the development of Near Protocol – reportedly partnered with the VC firm Caerus Ventures to launch a $100M venture capital fund and venture lab. The main goal will be to support engineers, builders, and developers who work in the emerging Web 3 sector.
Earlier this year, Near Foundation expanded its presence toward Africa, teaming up with the Kenyan blockchain community Sankore. Over the course of the agreement, both parties plan to establish a blockchain unit in the region that will focus on crypto innovations, education, and talent development throughout the continent.
The Multi-Million Fund
A recent coverage informed that Near Foundation and Caerus Ventures are willing to support the efforts of Web3 participants by introducing a venture capital fund. The Swiss entity will lead it, which will have an initial closing of $50 million and a target of $100 million.
“The creators, talent, and franchises with reach and influence spearheaded that growth and will now drive the adoption of blockchain at scale. But this time, they and their fans will have greater access to the value created,” said Marieke Flament, CEO of the Near Foundation.
For his part, Nathan Pillai – Founder of Caerus Ventures – claimed that Web 3 technologies are yet to reveal their real value and change current trends. He said he’s been “hugely impressed” by Near Foundation’s approach to back up developers and empower creators and consumers with more control over their assets.
“So we’re creating this partnership to help revolutionize the existing multi-layered entertainment ecosystems, growing the market size while promoting greater equity,” he added.
Touted as the new iteration of the Internet based on blockchain technology, Web 3 is a hot topic in the cryptocurrency space, and numerous companies turned their attention toward it.
In June, the venture capital and innovation incubator of Binance – Binance Labs – raised $500 million for its first start-up fund and intended to allocate the funds to organizations part of the Web 3 ecosystem.
A month later, Magic Eden (a Solana-based NFT marketplace) introduced a $130 million venture capital fund that will focus mainly on investments in Web 3 games.
Near Foundation’s Operations in Africa
In May this year, the Swiss entity joined forces with the Kenyan blockchain community Sankore and vowed to create a regional hub to provide cryptocurrency education for the locals.
Numerous developing nations on the African continent continue experiencing significant financial issues. In fact, many residents lack basic monetary services, which perhaps is one reason why crypto adoption is particularly high there.
The hub will aim to find and develop talents for the sector across Africa and later “nurture talented individuals to become world-class blockchain developers.” Speaking on the matter was Sankore’s Founder – Kevin Imani:
“Our dream is to lead the way in blockchain innovations in providing solutions to Africa’s biggest problems. The Near Protocol allows tomorrow’s biggest developers to build custom solutions with scalability, security, and transparency, and this hub is the next step in turning our shared vision into reality.”
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