New York, September 29, 2022 — Today, Mara Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth, communities, marginalized populations, and problem solvers to build solutions that drive long-term positive social, economic and environmental change in Africa, officially announced its partnership with Circle Internet Financial, a global digital financial technology firm and the issuer of USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC).
The focus of the partnership is to help provide developers based in Africa with critical opportunities, tools and access needed to build DApps and blockchain solutions. Through this first-of-its-kind strategic partnership, Circle and Mara aim to jointly increase awareness for USDC, champion blockchain adoption and train one million developers with the intent to positively impact Africa’s growing population of one billion people over the next five years.
As part of this partnership, Mara Foundation and Circle will co-host a developer roadshow across Kenya and Nigeria in October to engage with African web3 developers and introduce Circle to the local technology communities, raise awareness about the Mara Foundation and Circle partnership and what it means for the Blockchain/Web 3 ecosystem on the continent. Mara Foundation and Circle will also hold joint developer masterclasses and workshops, build campus ambassador programs, and more across Africa.
“In our conversations with Mara Foundation, we were highly impressed by their deep-rooted interest in empowering Africans' dreams and creating more digital financial inclusion across Africa,” said Sandra Persing, VP of Developer Relations and Ecosystem Marketing at Circle. “We are proud to partner with Mara Foundation, a front-runner and key player in the digital finance ecosystem, and provide developers in Africa with opportunities that will enhance their technical skills and innovations using a trusted digital dollar like USDC. ”
While speaking about the partnership, Chi Nnadi, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Mara said “Africa is important to us at Mara and we are invested in leading a movement that redefines Africa’s digital finance ecosystem. We’re committed to making dreams a reality and helping Africans across the world learn about blockchain and financial literacy through our non-profit foundation. Our partnership with Circle helps deepen this commitment as we continue to tap into the infinite potential that blockchain and USDC offers Africa’s youthful population.”
The Mara Foundation empowers African developers to make the transition from Web2.0 to Web3 while ensuring no one is left behind. As part of the recently concluded ‘Hack the Mara’ competition organized by Mara Foundation, several African developer teams are already using Circle’s technology to build technical breakthroughs and solutions focused on making financial services more inclusive, efficient and scalable.
“We are at an inflection point when it comes to the awareness and adoption of Web3 in Africa. While there are millions of developers interested in building the future of Africa on blockchain technology, there are also a billion individuals eager to learn more about financial resilience and opportunities to improve their futures,”, said Kate Kallot, co-founder and Chief Impact Officer at Mara, “This is why we are super excited to partner with Circle as we share a developer-first mindset that will empower these developers to transform the social and economic future of their communities, countries and the African continent”.
Chi Nnadi, Mara’s co-founder and CEO and Kate Kallot, co-founder and Chief Impact Officer at Mara will be at Circle’s ecosystem conference, Converge22, to touch on topics including the impact of blockchain infrastructure and Web3 adoption.