Empowering Progress: ARM Labs-backed alphabloQ Breaks Ground in Kenya’s Web 3 Landscape

ARM Labs-backed alphabloQ

ARM Labs, the driving force behind groundbreaking innovations and sustainable impacts, proudly announces a historic moment for the Kenyan Web 3 industry. alphabloQ, an ARM Labs Lagos Techstars accelerator-backed startup specializing in tokenized real estate investments, has secured acceptance into the regulatory sandbox of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya. This milestone not only solidifies alphabloQ’s position as the pioneer in blockchain-based investments in Kenya but also marks a significant advancement for the entire Kenyan Web 3 ecosystem.

Launched in 2023 by visionaries Trevor Kimani and John Mbui, alphabloQ has dedicated the past year to constructing a robust infrastructure, forging strategic partnerships, and actively collaborating with regulatory bodies. The culmination of these efforts is the recent approval to operate within the CMA sandbox – a controlled environment tailored for fostering innovation and growth within the financial sector.

Trevor Kimani, Co-founder, and CEO of alphabloQ, expressed his pride, stating, “It’s an honor to be the first blockchain startup accepted into Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority sandbox. This acknowledgment underscores our commitment to pioneering transformative solutions in the real estate investment landscape while adhering to the highest regulatory standards. We believe this milestone not only validates our hard work but also opens exciting possibilities for both our company and the Kenyan Real Estate and Capital Markets ecosystem. alphabloQ is open for business.”

John Mbui, Co-founder, and CTO of alphabloQ, highlighted the crucial aspect of collaboration with regulatory bodies, noting, “Engaging with regulators has been a core focus for us since day one. This acceptance into the CMA sandbox not only allows us to refine our innovative solutions but also contributes to the broader conversation on seamlessly integrating blockchain into traditional financial infrastructure.”

alphabloQ, strives to address the challenges faced by many Africans in accessing real estate investments. The traditional options of saving for years or acquiring expensive mortgages often hinder profitable investment in one of the best asset classes available. However, alphabloQ seeks to democratize access by digitizing real estate assets and breaking their value into fractions called tokens. Through blockchain technology, individuals can now buy portions of a property, earning income through capital gains and monthly cash flows without having to acquire the entire property.

The acceptance of alphabloQ into the regulatory sandbox provides a controlled environment to further demonstrate the reliability, security, and compliance of its platform while upholding consumer protection. The company aims to leverage this opportunity to refine its operations, perfect its value proposition, and contribute to the evolution of regulatory frameworks in the rapidly evolving Web 3 landscape.

This groundbreaking development not only propels alphabloQ but also signals Kenya’s active participation in the global web3 and blockchain space. Kenya now stands alongside other African countries, such as Nigeria and South Africa, in taking substantial steps to explore and support blockchain innovation.

As alphabloQ, embarks on this pivotal phase, ARM Labs expresses immense pride and joy in the achievement of this significant milestone. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the entire alphabloQ team for their dedication and groundbreaking work in the Kenyan Web 3 landscape.

This achievement reaffirms ARM Labs’ commitment to fostering innovation and positive economic impact in Africa. We are honored to stand by alphabloQ as they continue to democratize real estate investments and promote financial inclusion in the Kenyan market and beyond. ARM Labs takes pride in being a dynamic force for positive change and sustainable impact, and this success further motivates our dedication to supporting African startups.

As we celebrate alphabloQ’s success, we look forward to the upcoming launch of the ARM Labs Cohort 6.0. This presents a new opportunity for aspiring startups to join us on a transformative journey, where audacious dreams meet diverse perspectives. ARM Labs remains eager to contribute to the growth of innovative ideas and to leave a lasting legacy of positive economic impact on industries and communities across Africa. We invite all interested startups to stay tuned for the launch of Cohort 6.0 and be part of the dynamic force driving innovation in the African tech ecosystem.

 

ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator to showcase 12 Innovative Startups at Demo Day

ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator Demo Day

Lagos, Nigeria – February 1st, 2024 – The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator is excited to announce its Demo Day event, set to take place on February 20th, 2024, at 3PM WAT in Lagos, Nigeria.

The invite-only event  will showcase the accelerator’s 12 new investments, operational in Ghana, Nigeria, and East Africa. The sectors invested in include FinTech, HealthTech, B2B SaaS, Cleantech, Logistics, E-commerce and Big Data.

This Demo Day concludes a 13-week acceleration program designed to support the next generation of entrepreneurs that are changing Africa and the world, by using technology, data and intelligence to serve a population growing in size, youth, income and digital access.

Since the program commenced on November 13th, 2023, the startups have engaged with over 90 mentors and speakers including, Kevin Simmons, General Partner at LoftyInc Capital; Tingting Peng, Chief Capital & Strategy Officer at Moove; Shola Akinlade, Founder/CEO at Paystack; Kola Aina, Founding Partner at Ventures Platform; Tunde Kehinde, Founder/CEO at Lidya; Olatokunbo Alli, Managing Director at Leadway Health; and Yischai Beinisch, Head of West Africa – Emerging Market Power at Shell Energy Europe & Africa.

One of the founders in the class, Ayodeji Alaran- Founder/CEO, PBR Life Sciences remarked “The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator has served as a pivotal moment in our company’s development. In just two months, we’ve made significant strides that would have taken us three to four times as long to accomplish without the program’s support. The guidance and resources provided by the program team, mentors, and ARM have been instrumental in propelling us into a new phase of growth.”

The Program’s Managing Director, Oyin Solebo stated, “In 2023, against a backdrop of declining global VC funding, Techstars increased their investment into African startups, becoming the most active startup investor in Africa. Our continent is a hotbed of talent and innovation. The 12 startups graduating from our latest ARM Labs Lagos Accelerator epitomize this. Having worked closely with the founders to accelerate their businesses over the last 13 weeks, I’m incredibly proud to have the opportunity to showcase them to the world.”

Sadiq Mohammed, Deputy Group CEO, ARM Hold Co, expressed his excitement about the startups stating “At ARM, we believe that collaboration is essential for driving sustainable growth and development in Africa. This is why we are proud to have partnered with Techstars on this accelerator, which is helping to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs. I strongly believe that the startups in this second cohort are poised to revolutionize various industries in Africa.”

Oluwadunni Fanibe, Program Manager added “At Techstars, we believe that innovation and entrepreneurship are critical drivers of economic growth and development, our program is designed to provide the resources, mentorship, and network entrepreneurs need to succeed not just locally but globally as well. We are excited to showcase the startups growth in the last 13 weeks, come February 20th.” 

Doors for Demo Day open for registration and networking at 2PM. Event commences at 3PM with an opening address from Oyin Solebo, the program’s Managing Director.

In addition to the pitches from all 12 startups, the event will feature a keynote address from Tayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azudoh, the founders of Max.ng – Techstars’ first African investment, as well as a fireside chat with one of the most prolific angel investors on the continent, Olumide Soyombo. The event will end with a cocktail reception for key stakeholders and decision-makers in the African tech and VC ecosystem – another opportunity to network and build connections.

The 12 startups presenting at Demo Day include: 

  • 24Seven – 24Seven is an asset-light marketplace that enables small businesses and convenience stores to order inventory on credit with one-hour doorstep delivery; founded by Olufemi Idowu.
  • BeautyHut – Beauty Hut leverages technology to bridge the gap between beauty brands and consumers through efficient product distribution and marketing channels, via their e-commerce web-store and mobile app; founded by Subuola Oyeleye.
  • Eight Medical – Eight Medical is an end-to-end platform that connects users in need to emergency medical resources (such as hospitals, ambulances, personnel, information & credit), reducing waiting times from an average of 3 hours to 10 minutes or less; founded by Dr. Ibukun Tunde-Oni.
  • GetEquity – GetEquity facilitates access to investment opportunities by SEC-accredited providers, reducing entry barriers through investment aggregation across various asset classes; founded by Jude Dike, Temitope Ekundayo and Chigozirim Ugochukwu.
  • Jump n Pass – Jump n Pass is a mobile self-checkout platform and wallet that improves shopping experiences for shoppers, whilst enabling retailers to access inventory financing, and brands to sell more; founded by Tunde Ademuyiwa and Qudus Quadry.
  • One Plan – Through One Plan, workers in Africa’s informal economy can create affordable financial plans, making it easier to start a retirement plan, access low-interest credit, and access health plus life insurance cover; founded by Harold Awuah-Darko.
  • PBR Life Sciences – PBR Life Sciences offers pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare and medical device companies fast and easy access to high-quality market data and insights, helping them make objective decisions on product pricing, volumes and company strategy; founded by Ayodeji Alaran.
  • PressOne Africa – PressOne Africa provides African businesses with deeper insights into phone conversations with customers through a communication platform that provides conversation intelligence and call monitoring; founded by Mayowa Okegbenle, Opeyemi Shokunbi and Unoma Adeyemi.
  • Rana Energy – For critical-sector businesses and communities, Rana democratizes access to clean and reliable power by connecting affordable financing to impactful and bankable projects through a B2B energy-as-a-service platform; founded by Abraham Mohammed and Mubarak Popoola.
  • Surge Africa – Surge Africa allows individuals, micro-entrepreneurs and MSMEs in Africa to make instant cross-border transfers and pay up to 80% less in fees; founded by Kumar Shourav and Ebrahim Essop.
  • Swoove – Swoove is building an operating system to enable delivery businesses in emerging markets to digitize and scale their operations. With Swoove’s platform, businesses can efficiently hire & manage drivers, automate operations, and access an ecosystem of logistics-focused financial services; founded by Kwaku Tabiri, Kingsley Amponsah, Gloria Pascucci, Robert Quainoo and Kevin Blankson.
  • Veend – Veend provides access to on-demand funds for consumers and businesses with verifiable income, offering an innovative ecosystem approach to lending. This approach enables the verification of creditworthiness and collection of repayments from a single source; founded by Olufemi Olanipekun and Ebenezer Ajayi.

The in-person event is invite-only for investors, mentors, press, alumni founders, senior operators and ecosystem leaders. If you would like to attend virtually, or express your interest in attending in-person, please register here.

About Techstars

The Techstars worldwide network helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas – entrepreneurs create a better future for everyone, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere. Now we are on a mission to enable every person on the planet to contribute to, and benefit from, the success of entrepreneurs. In addition to operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, we do this by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Techstars has invested in more than 4,000 companies with a combined market cap of more than $105B. www.techstars.com

About ARM

Established in 1994 as an asset management firm, ARM offers wealth creation opportunities through a unique blend of traditional asset management and alternative investment services. ARM enables businesses to thrive, and helps its clients to maximise their returns and realise their most important goals. For almost three decades, ARM has  built a firm uniquely equipped to achieve these objectives and its reputation for quality research, investment expertise and value-added services has endeared it to clients both locally and internationally.

Love Beyond Life: The Importance of Estate Planning

By Mofoluke Keshinro, TEP

Embrace the love month with open hearts, but let’s not forget a love that transcends the bounds of life itself. In the symphony of love, where commitments are professed and values deemed precious, there exists a realm often overlooked – the meticulous art of estate planning. This process involves outlining instructions on how your affairs will be managed after you’re gone. While death is an unfortunate certainty in life, proper planning can significantly reduce the negative impact on your loved ones.

Beyond the erosion of the value of assets before the beneficiaries get to enjoy them, there are challenges such as being in the right state of mind to determine the distribution of assets, family uncertainty about the deceased’s assets, fees for professionals to process documents to access assets (probate processing), and time expended on the process.

Recently, a friend’s husband passed away during the pandemic, highlighting the challenges that can arise without a comprehensive estate plan. Despite having a life insurance policy, investments with the spouse listed as beneficiary, and clear instructions at work for death-in-service benefits, the absence of an estate plan left the widow uncertain and burdened. She couldn’t confirm if he left a will or any testamentary directive and was oblivious to the steps her husband had taken or not taken. Inquiring from his colleagues and friends, she learned about these details. She had to quickly navigate the process of obtaining a Letter of Administration to handle her late husband’s assets, adding stress to an already difficult situation. Urgency was paramount as the children had to go back to school, and fees had to be paid; life had to continue despite her bereavement.

It’s essential to understand that common practices like investing, having life insurance, or providing instructions for workplace benefits don’t replace the need for a well-thought-out estate plan. While these measures secure financial aspects, they often leave crucial details unaddressed.

Consider the case where the husband intended to create an estate plan but was discouraged by his wife, who believed that death was a distant event. This mindset can lead to essential planning being postponed, leaving loved ones in a challenging position when unforeseen events occur.

This article serves as a reminder and a call to action. Even if you have taken steps to secure your family’s financial future, creating a comprehensive estate plan is the missing piece that ensures your wishes are articulated. Your plan should cover various aspects, including your children’s education, how assets should be utilized, and the legacy you want to leave behind.

This Love Month, we encourage you not to delay engaging with estate planning experts. Show your love for your family by taking the necessary steps to create a plan that aligns with your family’s dynamics. At ARM TRUSTEES LIMITED, our experts are available to guide you through the process, providing professional assistance to give you peace of mind and leave your loved ones with smiles despite your absence.

Interested in setting up an Estate Plan today? Contact us or send  us an email to [email protected]