The last year has seen thousands of lives transformed due to an uptake in Web3 initiatives, especially in Southeast Asia where both smartphone penetration and unemployment rates are substantially high. 

The success stories of those who have found alternative income in crypto are what inspired siblings Alice and James Zhang to pursue a cryptocurrency startup venture that has come to be known as “Jambo”. 

Jambo is a Swahili word meaning ‘hello’ and to the siblings who are natives of the Democratic Republic of Congo, this venture will help usher Africa into the Web3 space as a hub for the continent’s entire digital economy.

The company was started 6 months ago and while many Web3 efforts in Africa are focussed on either gaming or financial services, Jambo co-founder and CEO, James Zhang says they hope to become “the super app of Africa” similar to what WeChat has done in China over the last decade. 

WeChat is currently one of the world’s most popular social media messaging apps and is similar to WhatsApp while also boasting a user base of over 1.2 billion people around the globe. 

The Jambo mission is an ambitious one but to that end, the company revealed to Forbes the completion of a $30 million Series A funding round led by crypto-focused venture firm Paradigm. This is Paradigm’s first investment in the continent. 

Jambo is looking at a massive market opportunity which according to blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis, begins with the 70% of sub-Saharan Africans under the age of 30 that have an ever-growing smartphone penetration while providing the third-fastest cryptocurrency economy. 

Jambo is testing about a dozen play-to-earn games including the popular Axie Infinity that could meet local data bandwidth among other considerations but in order to become a super app, the startup will have to become a one-stop-shop for everything crypto.  

The company is thus also working on a non-custodial wallet, which will allow users to send and swap cryptocurrencies as well as yearn yield on their holdings. With over 30,000 signups already locked in, the wallet is to be launched in the third quarter of this year. 

The Jambo wallet is being developed on Polygon, a prominent platform used to connect and grow Ethereum-compatible projects and blockchains but Zhang emphasizes there are still many technicalities to be resolved first. 

The Jambo CEO highlights that the details of Jambo’s token which will likely hit the market along with the main product have to be addressed. Aside from developing the product suite, these funds are helping the company expand its geographic footprint on the continent. 

Jambo is also partnering with thousands of internet cafes to improve student access to computers and high-speed internet. In the past months, the founders have gathered a 100-member team and opened offices in 15 countries including Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa with Jambo ambassadors in these countries offering 10-week courses on Web3. 

Introducing Jambo’s Ambassador | First Kenyan Ambassador

The firm hopes to establish a presence in 15 additional cities by the end of the year to have over 200,000 active community members. Jambo is further launching the AfricaDAO investment fund to index crypto development on the continent.