Mara (technology company)
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Founders |
|
Area served | Africa (Nigeria, Kenya) |
Key people | Chi Nnadi (CEO) |
| Products | Cryptocurrency exchange, cryptocurrencies |
Number of employees | 51 - 200 (2022) |
| Website | https://www.coinmara.com/ |
Mara is a pan-African financial technology, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and cryptoeconomy company.[1][2][3][4]
History
[edit]Mara was founded in 2021 by Chi Nnadi, Lucas Llinás Múnera, and Dearg OBartuin.[1][5][6] The Mara executive team is led by Chi Nnadi (Co-Founder and CEO), Dearg OBartuin, and Yana Afanasieva, and joined by board advisors Kojo Annan and Tatiana Koffman.[7][8][9] Mara announced its entry into Nigeria and Kenya in May 2022.[10]
In May 2022, Mara also announced $23 million in funding from Coinbase Ventures, Distributed Global, TQ Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, Huobi Ventures, Day One Ventures, Infinite Capital, DAO Jones, and nearly 100 other crypto investors.[10]
In May 2022, Mara was also named crypto partner of the Central African Republic and adviser to her president on crypto strategy and planning.[10][11]
In October 2022, Mara announced the launch of their flagship product, Mara Wallet, which enables users to buy, sell, hold, and transfer crypto-assets.[1][2]
Partnership
[edit]In September 2022, Mara Foundation partnered with Circle to organize a roadshow and hackathon aimed at increasing awareness of the potential of stablecoins and blockchain adoption as well as at educating developers and non-developers across Africa.[12][13]
In October 2022, the Ghana Football Association announced Mara as an official sponsor of the Black Stars of Ghana ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Mara launches crypto wallet for sub-Saharan Africa". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ a b Nwafor (2022-07-06). "Crypto education: How Mara Wallet app makes crypto management seamless". Vanguard News. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "Mara Set to Launch Cryptocurrency Wallet to Manage Finances – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ Ladipo, Ebunoluwa (2022-07-04). "Mara Wallet to boost crypto, NFT adoption in Africa". Businessday NG. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
- ^ Kene-Okafor, Tage (2022-05-11). "MARA nabs $23M to build Africa's portal to the crypto economy". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ Christiana, Alabi (4 July 2022). "Tech Firm To Launch Crypto-Economy Portal". Daily Trust. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Anaesoronye, Modestus (2022-06-16). "MARA names Susan Younis chief marketing officer". Businessday NG. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ Adeyemi, Daniel (2022-06-07). "Mara hires ex-Apple executive as Chief Marketing Officer". TechCabal. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "'Blockchain technology to provide jobs, solve problems'". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ a b c "MARA raises $23m to build Africa's crypto economy portal". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "Coinbase-Backed MARA to Help Central African Republic on Bitcoin". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ BellaNaija.com (2022-09-29). "Mara Foundation Sets out to Train One Million Innovators to impact Billions of Lives in Africa". BellaNaija. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
- ^ "Circle Partners with Mara Foundation for Web3 Capacity Building in Africa". www.circle.com. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
- ^ Association, Ghana Football. "GFA unveils Mara as official partner of Black Stars for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". www.ghanafa.org. Retrieved 2022-11-01.