Participated · Equity · Oct 2024

Mento Labs is the team behind Mento, a decentralized EVM platform for launching and operating stable assets on Celo. Its core product is the Mento stability protocol, described as an over-collateralized, decentralized and transparent mechanism that uses a crypto reserve to allow users to adjust the supply of Mento stable assets in response to demand. The protocol also allows users to exchange Mento stable assets with reserve collateral assets. Mento published a stablecoin roadmap that outlines adding local digital currencies PUSO (Philippines), cCOP (Colombia) and cGHS (Ghana) to its growing roster of decentralized stablecoins. The Mento reserve was previously called the Celo reserve. The team announced a $10M raise to support the project’s development and roadmap publication.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2023

Kotani Pay provides B2B middleware that links crypto platforms' smart contracts and stablecoins to local mobile-money APIs and USSD channels so recipients can cash out and pay in local currency without internet access. The startup targets remittances for underbanked populations across Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa, with planned expansion to Rwanda, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Nigeria. Kotani’s platform on-ramps local currency into USD via a network of liquidity providers and currently serves primarily enterprise flows. To date the platform has facilitated about $23 million in transfers, with an average transaction size of $150,000; Kotani charges an interchange fee averaging roughly 1% of gross transaction volumes. The company lists partners and integrations including Yellowcard, DCG, Fonbank, Celo’s Valora, Mercy Corps, UNICEF Crypto Innovation Fund and Stellar. Following its acquisition of Nigerian startup Fuhlstack, Kotani plans to roll out Reconset (Reconciliation-as-a-Service) and Money Ledger (Ledger-as-a-Service); Fuhlstack founder Lemuel Okoli joined as a co-founder.

Led · Seed · Jan 2023

ValuesCo (formerly Socialstack) is a Web3 technology and experience company that powers community-driven rewards ecosystems for brands, nonprofits and creators. Its platform enables communities and brands to design and launch no-code social tokens, create wallets via phone or email login, and allow members to earn tokens by completing actions and submitting proof via photo, social media, QR scans and more. Tokens are redeemable for rewards such as products, experiences and digital collectibles, and the app supports time-bound activations and participatory marketing to drive measurable impact. The company focuses on Web3 gaps including education, consumer adoption of wallets, hands-on support to launch social tokens, and delivering real-world impact. ValuesCo has been used by Starboard to incentivize cleanup of 770,000 pounds of ocean plastic, by AfrofutureDAO to drive $1.1M to African history preservation, and to power experiences for Christie’s and OneUpAction at Billie Eilish’s 2022 tour. Led by co-founder and CEO Andrew Berkowitz and based in Los Angeles, the company raised $2.7M in seed funding to accelerate growth, expand operations and broaden its business reach.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2022

Thallo operates a flagship blockchain carbon exchange designed to connect buyers and high-quality project developers directly, aiming to make the voluntary carbon market more efficient, traceable and democratic. The company uses tokenization and web3 tooling to enable buying, selling and retiring of credits with full transparency, and is developing the world’s first two-way carbon bridge with BioCarbon Registry to move credits on and off the blockchain. Thallo plans to accelerate development and marketing of its marketplace following an oversubscribed seed raise. The team combines climate‑tech and blockchain expertise (including co‑founders Ryan Gledhill, Joe Hargreaves and Adam Dry) and includes Hayley Moller leading marketing; the company has ten full‑time staff. Thallo has formed technical and ecosystem partnerships with Ripple, Celo, Polygon and Chainlink and works with project developers such as Biofix, InPlanet, TrendCO2e, UNDO and Ventree Innovations.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2022

Xternity is a Web3 gaming platform co-founded by Sagi Maman (CEO) and Shahar Asher (CTO) that offers a meta layer developers can add to any game. Its open beta provides a Multi Chain API, embedded and customized wallets, an NFT platform at scale, and a Web3 CRM tool. The platform is already integrated with Polygon, ImmutableX, Solana, and Celo. Xternity focuses on no-code solutions to help game creators boost player engagement, especially among Gen Z, and to safely onboard Web2 games to Web3. The company positions itself to enable brands and communities with true digital ownership and next-gen engagement tools. Today it announced $4.5 million in funding from gaming and Web3 investors to support product development and adoption.