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LocalGlobe and Pronomos Capital back Itana to pave the way for Africa’s first digital free zone

Talent City, now known as Itana, has raised a US$2 million pre-seed, money it intends to use to establish a digital free zone. Itana, founded by CEO Luqman Edu, COO Coco Liu and  ex-Andela and Flutterwave co-founder, Iyin Aboyeji, a founding investor, is primed to be Africa’s first digital free zone. The founders say the funding will support the startup’s efforts to improve Nigeria’s ease-of-doing-business index, drive foreign direct investment (FDI), and catalyze employment in Nigeria.

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Privacy, market maturity hurdles facing Brazil’s CBDC rollout

September 7, 2023

Maintaining privacy and increasing understanding of blockchain technology are primary issues to solve before Brazil’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) is ready for widespread use. Named DREX, the digital real is set for a first phase launch aimed at financial institutions in May 2024. They are using distributed ledger technology that’s based on Ethereum Virtual Machine. The bank hopes to open testing for new protocols after May next year,  and launch tests with the broader population by end-2024.

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Kotani gets US$2M pre-seed to help African workers send money home via crypto — without the internet

September 7, 2023

Nairobi-based Kotani Pay is a crypto payments startup with a vision to make cross-border remittances easier for the large underbanked populations in Africa. The two-year-old startup is targeting a use case that concerns the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people including in Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa. The startup, which has closed a $2 million pre-seed funding round led by P1 Ventures, with participation from a number of investors including DCG/Luno and Flori Ventures, plans to further expand to Rwanda, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Nigeria.

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