Mara (technology company)

Mara is a pan-African financial technology, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and cryptoeconomy company.^[1][2][3][4]

Mara

Company type	Privately held company
Industry	Financial services
Founded	2021
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/

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]