Lisk’s $15M Gamble: Can Africa, LATAM, and Asia Web3 Startups Outshine Silicon Valley? 🌍🚀

Lisk, that most earnest of crypto pioneers, has launched the EMpower Fund-a $15 million venture initiative aimed at plucking Web3 startups from the soil of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, as though these regions might sprout digital orchards of innovation while Silicon Valley wilts under the weight of its own overpriced delusions.

The fund, with the gravitas of a 19th-century nobleman dismissing a peasant’s humble pie, positions itself as a counterweight to the West’s venture scene, where valuations soar like hot-air balloons and returns plummet like a dropped teacup. One imagines Lisk sipping tea in a study lined with maps of the Global South, muttering, “Ah, here lies the true gold-buried beneath the rubble of Western hubris.”

Lisk’s $15 Million EMpower Fund Targets the Gaps Global VCs Miss

With the fervor of a poet waxing lyrical about the dawns of forgotten villages, Lisk claims that frontier economies-the ones Silicon Valley dismisses as “too risky” or “too exotic”-are the cradles of Web3’s next revolution. Perhaps, in their defense, the Valley’s founders never had to build a digital supply chain while dodging power outages or navigate agritech in a monsoon season.

The EMpower Fund, with its $250,000 per startup, offers capital and “hands-on advisory” (a euphemism for “we’ll tell you what to do”), covering regulatory compliance (because nothing says “Web3 freedom” like paperwork), tokenization (because every ledger needs a shiny wrapper), and fundraising strategies (for those who’ve never bootstrapped a business on coffee money).

Early beneficiaries include South Africa’s Lov.cash, which digitizes supply chains with the grace of a magician threading a needle; Afrikabal, connecting farmers to investors like a matchmaker in an agrarian fairytale; Indonesia’s IDRX, a stablecoin project as stable as a house of cards in a hurricane; and SigraFi, which lends gold-backed loans with the solemnity of a medieval guild.

Proof in action 👇

The first 4 companies backed by the Lisk EMpower Fund: 🇿🇦 – digitizing supply chains between retailers and suppliers in South Africa
Afrikabal 🌍 – connecting smallholder farmers to buyers and investors across Africa
IDRX 🇮🇩 – a…

– Lisk (@LiskHQ) October 2, 2025

Gideon Greaves, Lisk’s investment head, declares the fund’s thesis with the simplicity of a haiku: “Where others see risk, we see value.” One might say he’s the Turgenev of venture capital, penning tales of resilience in regions where founders build empires with “limited access to venture dollars” and a surplus of grit.

“Founders in Africa, LATAM, and Southeast Asia are already proving they can build products with real adoption despite limited access to venture dollars,” Greaves told BeInCrypto, as if narrating a parable of the underdog.

A $5.2 Trillion Untapped Opportunity

Emerging markets, with their $5.2 trillion of “untapped potential,” are the equivalent of a vast, uncharted forest where venture returns grow like mushrooms after rain. Yet, many founders bootstrap their way to Series A, relying on sheer willpower and the occasional barter of mangoes for code. Greaves, ever the romantic, calls this “necessity-driven entrepreneurship”-a phrase that sounds like a Tolstoy novel title.

“Someone who is emotionally attached to their product and views it as an extension of themselves,” he explained, as though describing a lover’s devotion.

By waiting until startups show traction, Lisk plays the role of a cautious landowner, reducing risk while offering “advisory support” (read: micro-management) on regulatory compliance, tokenization, and fundraising. It’s venture capitalism with a velvet glove.

“The Lisk EMpower Fund gave us capital, credibility, and community, transforming Afrikabal from a local pilot into a global infrastructure contender,” Oghenetejiri Jesse, CEO of Afrikabal, said in a statement that sounds like a sonnet to the underdog.

Greaves, in his disdain for “parachute capital,” likens Western VCs to tourists who arrive with suitcases full of cash and zero understanding of the local dialect. One might imagine him rolling his eyes at the spectacle of “impact investing” done by those who’ve never tasted the local cuisine.

Bridging the Disconnect Between Risk and Value

For decades, Western VCs have viewed frontier markets as “unstable and opaque,” a term that sounds like a 19th-century Russian critic describing a peasant uprising. Lisk, however, insists these markets are merely “undercapitalized, misunderstood, and scaling faster than the West.” A bold claim, but then again, who needs accuracy when you have ambition?

“Where Western VCs see ‘risk,’ we see mispriced opportunity. Emerging markets aren’t unstable-they’re undercapitalized, misunderstood, and scaling faster than the West,” Greaves declared, with the conviction of a prophet.

This positioning grants Lisk a dual advantage: founders receive more than cash (though cash is nice), and global investors get “vetted, de-risked deal flow” (a phrase that sounds suspiciously like a sales pitch for a pyramid scheme).

With US seed-stage ventures delivering returns that make even the most optimistic investor yawn, the gap between capital and frontier demand widens like the Grand Canyon. Lisk, ever the bridge-builder, intends to fill it with a mix of tokenization and bravado.

“We’re not chasing hype. We’re unlocking overlooked value and bridging frontier markets with global capital,” Greaves added, as if delivering a monologue from a soapbox in a bustling market square.

Tokenization and the Future of Venture

A distinguishing feature of the EMpower Fund is its tokenized structure for LP subscriptions-a digital ledger wrapped in blockchain glitter. By turning LP shares into tokens, Lisk introduces liquidity to an asset class that once locked capital for a decade. It’s like turning a 10-year-old’s piggy bank into a cryptocurrency wallet.

“Tokenization doesn’t create new risk-it simply digitizes an old, clunky process. The token is tied directly to a real fund share, so it’s not speculative in nature. It’s just a better wrapper,” Greaves said, with the optimism of a man selling a magic pill.

This structure allows smaller investors to participate while enabling secondary market liquidity-a move that Greaves calls “demonstrating credibility.” One might say it’s the venture capital equivalent of wearing a bow tie to a horse race.

“If VCs truly believe in Web3, they should prove it by adopting it themselves.”

Impact as a Byproduct of Scale

Unlike many emerging market funds that pitch themselves on impact alone, Lisk insists its lens is business-first. After all, who has time for altruism when there’s a $5.2 trillion pot of gold to chase?

“In our markets, impact is the byproduct of success. A startup building blockchain-powered remittances is lowering costs for millions of unbanked families. A venture solving digital identity is expanding access to credit. These are disruptive businesses first, but their growth naturally delivers social benefit at scale,” Greaves said, as if reciting a manifesto for a new age.

For him, the same transparency and trustless efficiency underpinning blockchain also make local impact measurable and unavoidable. It’s as if the technology itself has a conscience-and a ledger to prove it.

The Next Wave of Unicorns

Lisk sees the greatest opportunities in financial infrastructure, digital identity, and supply chain visibility. Greaves cites mobile money’s $1.68 trillion volume in 2024, noting that two-thirds came from Africa. One might say it’s a reminder that innovation thrives where necessity is king.

“Blockchain has the power to transform emerging markets into developed ones. If emerging markets are first to adopt on-chain infrastructure, they will lead the charge-while developed markets, distracted by speculation and short-term wins, will be forced to follow,” he concluded, with the finality of a closing chapter in a novel.

If Lisk’s thesis holds true, the next generation of Web3 unicorns will be minted not in Silicon Valley but across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, with the West struggling to catch up like a dog chasing its own tail. 🐕💨

2025-10-02 18:04