September 2023 Newsletter: Demo Day Highlights + Portfolio Wins

5 min readOct 16, 2023

Hello there,

As we embrace the month of October, we’ve been immersed in a whirlwind of activities. However, amidst our bustling schedule, we want to ensure that we don’t forget to bring you insights from the vibrant month of September. In this newsletter edition, we’re excited to share the highlights, with a special focus on our Cohort 1 Demo Day event.

But before we delve into the details of this exciting occasion, let’s explore some intriguing market insights.

Despite the global Web3 funding drought seemingly continuing into Q4, the African ecosystem has remained active in terms of development, community events, and product innovation. Last month, Adaverse sponsored and attended the highly anticipated EthSafari which showcased the best in African tech across the continent, notwithstanding a market slowdown. Taking place in Kenya the event highlighted the omnipresent energy amongst founders and enthusiasts alike and bode well for a strong 2024.

In this time of building and consolidation, the past few months have also seen a number of interesting pivots from B2C to B2B in both investor appetite and founder outlook across Africa. As exemplified by the recent Google for Startups Africa Program, there is a heavy emphasis on SME products and supply chain with a strong institutional focus. This perhaps reflects the uncertainty and risk associated with emerging market consumer solutions, as a recent research report from portfolio company Seso Global highlights. Despite this, experience shows that consumer solutions remain the ticket to exponential growth in Africa — there is no substitute for mass adoption.

🚀Adaverse Demo Day Was a Huge Win!

On the 29th of September, we held the much-anticipated Adaverse DemoDay 2023 for our African cohort1. The excitement of a successful Demo Day, featuring 25 outstanding startups and guest appearances by Cardano founder and Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, still resonates with us.

You can catch the full highlights of this incredible event here.

After our remarkable #DemoDay event, we’re actively engaging with our cohort members to extract valuable insights from their DemoDay experience and propose growth pathways for scaling. Additionally, our token workshop is underway, supporting select portfolio companies ready to embark on their token launches.

Bitmama

The Bitmama team was invited to Madrid by the Stellar Foundation to discuss their new integration with MoneyGram, as they aim to become the go-to platform for cross-border payments in Africa.

Fonbnk

A platform that enables users to onboard and offboard into Web3 using a SIM card (through its airtime) has signed a significant partnership with Opera MiniPay Wallet. This highlights Fonbnk’s expanding reach and growing trust in the Web3 space, as it achieved a remarkable 77% growth in new wallet creation.

Seso Global

Seso Global has unveiled a first-of-its-kind diaspora mortgage product in partnership with Imperial Mortgage Bank. This product is tailored to meet the needs of the Nigerians in the diaspora, facilitating easier property investments and homeownership in their homeland.

TOKEN 2049:

EMURGO Africa proudly represented the Cardano community at TOKEN 2049 in Singapore, joining industry leaders and founders to discuss the future of Web3. Adaverse’s founding partner and Co-CEO of EMURGO Africa, Shogo Ishida, was also in attendance, making this event a valuable opportunity to showcase Cardano’s achievements and tools within the ecosystem.

ETH Safari:

Adaverse proudly sponsored #EthSafari2023, a week-long African Web3 experience held in Nairobi and Kilifi, Kenya, supporting the dialogue on the African Web3 VC Landscape with insights from Investment Manager William Phelps.

BlackBlockchainSummit:

George Payne, Investor and Head of Accelerator at Adaverse, participated in the #BlackBlockchainSummit at Howard University in Washington DC, co-hosted by AfriBlocks, reaffirming Adaverse’s commitment to fostering innovation in the Web3 space.

As we reflect on the exciting events and milestones of September, Adaverse is poised for an even more remarkable journey ahead. We’re eager to share our plans and progress with you in the forthcoming editions. Stay tuned as we embark on a mission to diversify our portfolio, with a special focus on the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia. The future holds boundless opportunities, and we’re thrilled to continue this incredible Web3 journey together.

About Adaverse Accelerator program

Our program empowers entrepreneurs with the resources and capital to shape the decentralised future of emerging market economies. In partnership with EMURGO and Everest Ventures Group, Adaverse brings together key industry stakeholders to provide startups with the support they need to scale and revoluntionize industries.

Click Here to apply for funding and join our portfolio