Nigerian startups Fyodor Biotechnologies, MailHaven and Mobile Forms are among the 30 companies involved in the 22X Fund, a batch token sale that is believed to be the first of its kind.
Through investing in 22X, which has launched its pre-sale, investors have the opportunity to gain equity of up to 10 per cent in 30 of Silicon Valley’s most high potential early-stage companies.
22X stands for Batch 22 of the 500 Startups accelerator programme, which was selected in August of last year and includes Nigerian startups Fyodor, MailHaven and Mobile Forms.
It is a crypto offering backed by real assets in real companies, and an opportunity for investors to get a token that appreciates in value as companies mature with a clearly defined underlying asset structure.
500 Startups itself is not involved in the fund, with the founders of the 22x portfolio companies having self-organised to create this offering, and raising money independent of 500 Startups. The companies have previously raised over US$22 million in combined funding, with the final amount of equity to be provided to investors via this ICO to be determined by the total amount raised by 22X.
“We are glad to be participating in this new, innovative way of raising capital, because it gives MailHaven a wider net of investors to raise from. Having a strong leadership team steer the fundraising activity allows founders to focus on their startups at this early stage,” said MailHaven co-founder Kela Ivonye.
“This doesn’t negate a founders’ duties of fundraising in the future, every founder must be able to hone their skills and be good at raising. However, at this early stage, it does protect founders from circumstances that could lead to the demise of the startups and previous investors’ capital.”
Accredited investors interested in owning a slice of the 29 startups can transfer most crypto or fiat currencies into the 22X Fund and will receive the digital ERC20-compliant 22X Token in return.
“22X represents the cutting edge of new investment vehicles, an asset token backed by equity in 30 companies that’s compliant with securities laws. It’s an unprecedented offering in the crypto space, and I’m thrilled to come on board as a fund administrator,” said Tim Reynders, fund administrator for the 22X Fund.
