Top-tier blockchain enterprises keen on involvement in Africa must grasp the distinctive African landscape. Lisk, a leading Ethereum Layer 2 scaling blockchain, has initiated collaboration with African trailblazers, adopting a dedicated approach to sharing its expertise and fostering mutual learning to accelerate the Web 3 trajectory. The engagement has commenced with gatherings in Cape Town, Nairobi, and Lagos aimed at disseminating information and encouraging applications to The Lisk Blockchain Incubation Hub, a program committed to aiding African founders in materializing their Web3 concepts using the Lisk protocol.

Lisk possesses substantial capability and proficiency in addressing real-world challenges in emerging markets through its expertise in Real World Assets (RWA) tokenization and the development of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).

These events, organized by NODO on behalf of Lisk and CV Labs, a blockchain accelerator and ecosystem developer, held on April 23rd in Cape Town, April 30th in Nairobi, and May 3rd in Lagos, attracted a diverse array of ecosystem talents, including web3 developers from blockchain talent firm Web3bridge, notable figures such as OluwaTobi Ajayi, CEO of crypto payment company IvoryPay, Oyedeji Oluwoye, CTO of DeFi startup Canza Finance, Felix Macharia, CEO of stablecoin payment company Kotani Pay, as well as members of the women-led DAO HERDAO Kenya.

"The main challenge many startups face is transitioning from zero to one. That's the gap we aim to bridge," remarked Brenton Naicker, a seasoned blockchain investor and Principal at CV VC, during the event. He emphasized that 42% of startups fail due to lacking product-market fit. However, the 5-month Lisk Blockchain Incubation Hub strives to assist accepted startups in refining their ideas and crafting a robust business proposition, addressing problems that individuals and businesses are willing to pay for. With two main phases focusing on developing a solid business case and devising a go-to-market strategy, selected startups are equipped and supported to become revenue-generating ventures, attractive to global investors.

"The Lisk Blockchain Incubation Hub is a collaboration between an accelerator, an investor, and a leading layer 2 protocol to nurture 20 African startups, guiding them from the conceptual stage to establishing a minimum viable product (MVP) before entering the market," Naicker added.

In addition to aiding selected applicants in refining their ideas, the program facilitates co-founders' pairing based on shared interests. Upon completing two months of idea development, they receive a $4,000 grant to assist in building an MVP for the subsequent 3 months. Successful startups at the program's conclusion become eligible for funding ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 and a direct path to the CV VC accelerator in Switzerland, potentially securing up to $135,000 in additional funding.

"A significant portion of the Lisk Layer 1 community resides in Nigeria and Indonesia. Thus, our transition to Layer 2 aligns with our overarching vision of collaborative tech development for wider democratization. It also allows us to focus on regions where the most innovative projects are emerging, particularly Africa," explained Dominic Schwenter, Chief Project Officer, who was joined by other Lisk team members, including Erwan Mismaque, Head of Onchain Finance, and Social Media Engagement Lead Lizzy Idowu.

Lisk forms part of the Optimism Superchain, a collective of protocols striving to enhance infrastructure, improve UI/UX, offer better developer tools, and address fragmented liquidity to scale Ethereum globally. The Superchain ethos revolves around the notion that individual protocol efforts to attract users to their ecosystem do not adequately showcase the potential of blockchain technology. With interoperability at its core, Superchain aims to collaborate to prepare the blockchain space for global adoption and diverse use cases.

"After identifying the challenges African developers face with expensive smart contract auditing, the Lisk team proposed a solution for more affordable smart contract auditing on its protocol, with backing from the Optimism team across the Superchain," Schwenter recounted.

In March, Optimism announced the allocation of about 850 million Optimism tokens valued at $3 billion to fund Superchain developers, builders, and contributors across four retro funding rounds. According to Schwenter, building with Lisk offers developers access to this supportive ecosystem and funding opportunities.

Idris Olubisi, a developer advocate, encouraged attendees to devote time to building on Layer 2s, as they represent the future of the blockchain community. "We need layer 2s to onboard the next 1 billion users onchain," he asserted.

When a prospective applicant expressed concerns about the program's support beyond funding, Naicker clarified that CV Labs would provide advisory support to selected startups through its network of experienced entrepreneurs and mentors across various industries. "Regarding mentorship, it comes with a venture capital perspective. The same resources available to CV VC portfolio companies will be accessible to successful startups in the Lisk Incubation Hub," Naicker assured.

With its blockchain innovation hub, Lisk is placing a significant bet on the potential of crypto meeting real-world needs, particularly in emerging markets where efforts in tokenization have gained momentum. Zimbabwe, for instance, has intensified its efforts to tokenize its abundant gold, while projects like Dragon in Southeast Asia are ramping up initiatives to drive RWA adoption.

"We are eager to witness the compelling RWA cases our founders will present. From yield-bearing stablecoins to real estate tokenization, we'll explore a diverse range of innovative use cases demonstrating blockchain technology's potential in revolutionizing finance and asset management," Dominic Schwenter concluded.