1. Overview Haske Ventures and Kepple Africa Ventures propose to accelerate the adoption of USDA (and other Cardano-based solutions) through integration into a network of 10–30 African startups.

• Haske Ventures is the most experienced venture builder in Francophone Africa, having 12 successful acceleration projects as a track record.

• Kepple Africa Ventures has invested in more than 100 startups across 11 markets in Africa since 2018, managing a combined $80M fund. Their funds are supported by Japanese government and corporate LPs, such as JICA, JICT, Toyota Tsusho, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, SBI, Kirin, M3, etc

2. Adoption of stablecoins by African startups Part 1: Leveraging Our Strategic Portfolio and Partner Network Kepple Africa Ventures has built one of the most robust portfolios in Africa’s tech ecosystem, spanning fintech, mobility, gaming, healthtech, and infrastructure. These companies represent some of the fastest-growing and most impactful startups across the continent. Notable portfolio and partner companies include:

• Moniepoint – A leading digital financial services provider in Nigeria, processing over $170 billion annually in transactions and reaching millions of users through its 300,000 POS agents, and serving 1 million SMES with its banking infrastructure.

• PalmPay (Transsnet) – 30M+ downloads; deeply embedded in Transsion’s smartphone ecosystem (~50% market share in Nigeria).

• Carry1st – Africa’s leading mobile gaming publisher with millions of users across the continent, partnering with global players like Riot Games and Activision, and backed by a16z and Sony as key strategic investors.

• Moove –Mobility fintech enabling gig workers across 13 cities; $70M+ raised from Uber and others.

• MoneyHash – Orchestrates payments for MENA’s BNPL, gaming, and e-commerce markets; key to stablecoin integration across digital consumer rails.

• Cauridor – Francophone fintech with 25,000+ agents solving cross-border payment friction via hybrid rails.

• OnAfriq (formerly MFS Africa) – One of Africa’s largest digital payments networks, connecting over 400 million mobile wallets and banking systems across 35+ countries.

-Zone (formerly Appzone) – A blockchain-powered payment infrastructure company that facilitates real-time settlement between banks and fintechs.

These companies operate at the intersection of digital infrastructure and financial services, providing fertile ground for the scalable introduction of blockchain-based solutions like stablecoins.

Part 2: Unlocking Stablecoin Use Cases Through Strategic Engagement Our proposal is focused on catalyzing the adoption of stablecoins within Africa through a venture-led, ecosystem-based approach. By strategically engaging our portfolio and partner companies, we aim to identify, co-develop, and support pathways for stablecoin integration that are both commercially viable and impactful.

1. Cross-border Transactions: Many African businesses and consumers face high remittance fees and slow cross-border payments. Stablecoins offer an efficient, low-cost alternative for near-instant transfers across countries and currencies.

2. Merchant Settlements and Treasury Use: Companies with large transaction volumes—especially in fintech, e-commerce, and mobility—can use stablecoins to optimize treasury operations, reduce FX exposure, and streamline settlements across fragmented banking systems.

3. Creator and Developer Incentives: Platforms in gaming, content creation, and digital marketplaces can use stablecoins to compensate users, creators, or developers more efficiently and transparently, with the added benefit of on-chain verifiability.

4. Programmable Finance and Compliance: Smart contract-enabled stablecoin transactions can help companies automate conditional payments, enforce compliance standards, and enable new financial products like escrow or pay-per-use services.

5. Financial Inclusion: With many users still outside the formal banking system, stablecoins provide an on-ramp to digital financial tools, especially when integrated into platforms already reaching underserved users at scale.

Part 3: Execution Plan Our team will engage 10–30 startups from our existing and future pipeline to pilot real-world stablecoin applications on Cardano. Each selected company will undergo a structured process of:

• Use case identification based on business model fit (e.g., remittances, treasury, cross-border trade);
• Technical design and development supported by in-house and Emurgo-aligned engineering resources followed by POC;
• Business advisory to ensure compliance, go-to-market readiness, and ecosystem alignment;
• Integration testing and deployment with real transaction volumes;
• Post-deployment monitoring and iteration.

The focus will be on startups already operating with their customer base, ensuring rapid prototyping and measurable impact. We will also collaborate with local technical talent and ecosystem partners to support implementation and knowledge transfer. We believe this structured, venture-led approach will significantly advance stablecoin adoption across key African markets and position Cardano as the de facto blockchain platform supporting it.

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to over 850 million adults, with nearly half unbanked. While many fintech initiatives have been launched in the continent, most focus on the "Big 4" markets: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt. Francophone Africa, however, remains significantly underserved and overlooked in blockchain adoption and financial innovation. This region faces unique structural and linguistic challenges that have limited the penetration of inclusive fintech solutions.

Simultaneously, there is a $330 billion financing gap annually for businesses across the continent, with Francophone countries receiving disproportionately low attention and resources. Bridging this gap requires innovative, transparent, and cost-efficient financial infrastructure that can bypass traditional barriers.

By enabling stablecoin (USDA) adoption across high-impact African startups—particularly those operating in or reaching Francophone markets—this project offers:

• Scalable adoption of Cardano technologies through real-world integrations;
• Inclusion of hundreds of thousands of unbanked users via startups already reaching those markets;
• Demonstrated use cases that improve transaction speed, reduce costs, and build resilience against currency volatility;
• Expanding Cardano's reach into new geographies and industries;
• Organic Cardano community growth in Francophone Africa—an untapped demographic representing 70% of the global French-speaking population, establishing Cardano as the first-mover blockchain in Francophone Africa;
• Strengthening Cardano’s developer base via education, tooling, and talent pipelines;

This aligns with Cardano goals of Incoming Liquidity, L2 Expansion, Developer Tools, and User Experience.

Target of USDA volume to be achieved in Africa.

Year1 : [10-15]% to total USDA transaction volume. Year2 : [20-25]% to total USDA transaction volume.

• USDA stablecoin integrated into 10–30 African startups;

• Case studies showcasing commercial impact, challenges, and learnings;

• Open-source onboarding tools and integration templates for future adopters;

• Technical documentation and deployment playbooks tailored to African markets;

• Regional workshops and roundtables to promote adoption and developer interest;

• Final report with KPIs, impact metrics, and roadmap for ecosystem-wide replication.

10 - 30 selected companies to bring in USDA (and/or Cardano) as a solution.

1)Business development and execution cost : $1.2M ([10-30] projects x $[40-100]k))

<Cost break down of each project ($[40-100]k)>

-Overall project Management Team : ($3k-$9k) x 3 months (for each project) -Business Development Team : ($3k-$9k) x 2 months (for each project) -Execution Team : ($3k-$9k) x 2 months (for each project) -Tech team for USDA integration : ($5k-$11k) x 3 months (for each project) -External Advisory cost (if necessary) : ($3k-$7k) x 3 months (for each project)

2)Indirect administration cost : $0.4M -Accounting / Finance Expense : $120k -Legal Expense : $60k -Travel Expense : $120k -Communication Expense : $30k -General Administration Expense : $70k

【Team size】

2 Directors 2 Analysts / Business Development External advisors

【Duration】

1 - 2 years

Abdourahmane Diop is the CEO and co-founder of Haskè Ventures. He is based in Dakar, Senegal and was involved in the creation of more than 10 ventures over the past 3 years. He has a Master in Commerce, Business and Finance from the Polytechnical School of Dakar, Cheikh Anta Diop University.

Satoshi Shinada is a co-founder/General Partner of Kepple Africa Ventures. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria. He has led investment in >50 startups in Africa since 2018. He has a BSc from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Implementation of this proposal will result in integration of USDA and Cardano into the daily operation of the most successful startups in Africa.
As leading VC and venture builder, Kepple Africa Ventures and Haske Ventures will keep providing support to these companies.
As a going concern, Kepple Africa Ventures has been in successful operation for over 7 years already. Haske Ventures has been in successful operation for over 4 years already.

Membership & Community Committee

【Joint research with JICA】

https://www.jica.go.jp/Resource/nigeria/english/office/topics/emo4vc000000w6jr-att/230316_01.pdf

【Kepple Africa Ventures】

Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) has concluded a final close of $60 million for its pan-African VC fund https://www.wamda.com/ar/2024/04/verod-kepple-africa-ventures-closes-60-million-pan-african-fund

JICA signed an investment agreement with Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures SCSp (VKAV Fund) https://www.jica.go.jp/english/information/press/2022/20230320_31.html

【Haskè Ventures】

https://www.orangecorners.com/new-partnership-between-the-embassy-of-the-kingdom-of-the-netherlands-and-haske-ventures/

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/03/world/video/marketplace-africa-haske-ventures-francophone-africa-vc-spc

https://www.climatesmartagrihub.com/

https://www.transformative25.org/project/haske-ventures/

https://www.orangecorners.com/winners-ocif-subsidy-round-2/

No key dependencies, other than existing network and operational base of Haske and Kepple.