Mara (technology company)

Last updated

Mara
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2021
Founders
  • Chi Nnadi; Lucas Llinás Múnera; Dearg OBartuin
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]

Contents

History

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

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

  1. 1 2 3 Schwartz, Leo (October 27, 2022). "Coinbase- and FTX-backed Mara launches crypto wallet for sub-Saharan Africa". Fortune. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Nwafor (July 6, 2022). "Crypto education: How Mara Wallet app makes crypto management seamless". Vanguard News. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  3. "Mara Set to Launch Cryptocurrency Wallet to Manage Finances – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  4. Ladipo, Ebunoluwa (July 4, 2022). "Mara Wallet to boost crypto, NFT adoption in Africa". Businessday NG. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  5. Kene-Okafor, Tage (May 11, 2022). "MARA nabs $23M to build Africa's portal to the crypto economy". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  6. Christiana, Alabi (July 4, 2022). "Tech Firm To Launch Crypto-Economy Portal". Daily Trust. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  7. Anaesoronye, Modestus (June 16, 2022). "MARA names Susan Younis chief marketing officer". Businessday NG. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  8. Adeyemi, Daniel (June 7, 2022). "Mara hires ex-Apple executive as Chief Marketing Officer". TechCabal. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  9. "'Blockchain technology to provide jobs, solve problems'". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. August 24, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "MARA raises $23m to build Africa's crypto economy portal". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. May 15, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  11. "Coinbase-Backed MARA to Help Central African Republic on Bitcoin". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  12. BellaNaija.com (September 29, 2022). "Mara Foundation Sets out to Train One Million Innovators to impact Billions of Lives in Africa". BellaNaija. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  13. "Circle Partners with Mara Foundation for Web3 Capacity Building in Africa". www.circle.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  14. Association, Ghana Football. "GFA unveils Mara as official partner of Black Stars for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". www.ghanafa.org. Retrieved November 1, 2022.