Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of Binance, the world’s largest and community focused crypto exchange, on Monday, has announced the appointment of Yele Bademosi, as a director in the company.
Yele Bademosi who until his appointment is the founder of angel funds investor, Microtraction, is expected to focus on developing the blockchain ecosystem in Africa, as well as sourcing blockchain projects and leading the Lagos chapter of the Incubation Program. The 10-week incubator program is designed to help entrepreneurs deliver products with clear product-market fit.
“My personal mission is to accelerate Africa’s transition into a sustainable and developed economy by leveraging innovation, capital and policy,” Bademosi tweeted after the announcement.
Bademosi who dropped out of medicine school to pursue a future in the technology industry, founded Microtraction in July, 2017.
Based in Lagos, Microtraction is backed by African and global investors, including Michael Seibel, CEO of Y Combinator, and Pave Investments, and African multifamily office. According to data from Crunchbase, Microtraction has invested in six Nigeria tech startups, 4 of which it was the lead investor.
“Approximately 18 months ago, I came to a first principles realisation about the powerful potential of blockchain and crypto to be core technologies in making this mission a reality,” he wrote. “Blockchains are the first techno-social innovation that enables the coordination and cooperation of individuals and entities towards a common objective without a central authority or a trusted third party.”
One of the first companies Bademosi invested in was BuyCoins.Africa which provides a platform for users to buy and sell bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash instantly using Nigerian cards or bank account.
“On a high level, my mandate is to leverage blockchain to accelerate Africa’s transition to a sustainable and developed economy. I believe very strongly that blockchain adoption will come from frontier markets that will leapfrog the existing financial systems as well as governance and economic models,” Bademosi said.
