Positive-Sum Game in the Crypto Ecosystem: The Battle for New Web3 Users Heats Up in Africa | DripEcho Episode 1
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Positive-Sum Game in the Crypto Ecosystem: The Battle for New Web3 Users Heats Up in Africa | DripEcho Episode 1
Being chosen by new users or abandoned by existing ones is the ultimate destiny that all Web3 projects must face today—and an unavoidable exam they must take.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsOriginal author: JoyChen, Waterdrip Capital
Preface
From a conventional investment perspective, the primary crypto user base is typically first reached in regions like Europe and the United States, or more recently, the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region. Mature crypto markets generally feature well-established financial systems and educated user bases. User activity appears to correlate positively with regional economic development, while markets in Africa, Latin America, or Southeast Asia often lack both cryptocurrency understanding and stable financial infrastructure. In contrast, these emerging markets increasingly view crypto as a pathway to financial stability and new transactional opportunities.
Behind the growing affinity for crypto products in regions like Africa is increasing attention from exchanges, traditional financial institutions, and Western investors toward this previously untapped "undiscovered continent." Long-standing unmet needs are now transforming into surging capital inflows and new users.
Jambo has expanded its operations to over 120 countries including Brazil, Vietnam, and Turkey, launching the world’s first Web3 Earn smartphone—the JamboPhone—at just $99. As of July this year, more than 460,000 JamboPhones have been sold globally, and over 1.8 million non-custodial wallets have been activated, signaling significant ecosystem growth. By offering an ultra-low-cost entry point, Jambo provides users with a fresh on-ramp to embrace Web3. Additionally, the Jambo ecosystem currently includes over 50 live Web3 projects across seven major blockchain networks.
The name "Jambo" comes from the Swahili word for "hello," symbolizing Jambo's friendly approach to welcoming global users.
DripEcho, a cryptocurrency and blockchain interview series produced by Waterdrip Capital, features James, founder of JamboPhone, in its inaugural episode. Founded in early 2022 and headquartered in the Congo, Jambo successfully raised $7.5 million in seed funding and $30 million in Series A funding within just one year—backed almost entirely by top-tier Western crypto funds. James, Jambo’s founder, brings deep experience in African markets, leveraging his unique background to pioneer innovative Web3 use cases that have accelerated Jambo’s growth in the crypto space.
James Z: From the Congo to a Web3 Pioneer
James grew up in the Congo, where his family has lived for three generations. Fluent in French and raised speaking Chinese with his parents, he was immersed from childhood in Africa’s social realities, later studying in the U.S. and China. His upbringing amid cultural contrasts aligns perfectly with the impression one gets upon meeting James for the first time. While studying computer science at New York University, he encountered cryptocurrency for the first time and purchased his first Ether. After graduation, he gained extensive experience in investing before ultimately founding Jambo.
For James, entrepreneurial inspiration may stem from an indelible upbringing. "To listeners of this podcast: think about whether you’ve ever been to Africa. Why don’t Africans work in Africa? Why don’t they run businesses? Anyone who’s tried doing business in Africa knows you can’t send money to those who need it—you don’t have a bank account. These common issues in emerging markets existed decades ago in places like China and the U.S.
When you grow up in such environments, and your parents face these challenges daily, these problems become deeply ingrained in your mind. Then I went to the U.S., studied computer science and finance at NYU, and you don’t need to be a genius to see the gap between America and Africa—it simply exists because no one has addressed it. So I seized the opportunity to act."
Founding Motivation: The Sword Hanging Over Every Project
On the motivation behind starting Jambo, James laughs: “Honestly, it started because I was bored. If you want to invest, you should back things you truly care about—but back then, I didn’t see any projects tailored for emerging markets.” His goal was clear: solve cross-border payments, remittances, and the lack of bank accounts—core pain points across emerging economies.
In early 2022, while the market was caught in a “Southeast Asian GameFi craze,” few were paying attention to Africa. “We saw that people in many African nations lacked bank accounts but desperately needed cross-border transfer services.” The launch of the JamboPhone was designed precisely to address this gap.
Being chosen by new users—or abandoned by existing ones—is the unavoidable destiny every Web3 project must face. “Everyone needs new users—that’s all there is to it,” James says without hesitation.
“Let’s be honest, every Web3 company dreams of the same thing. No matter how strong your project is, you want to get listed on exchanges. If we were a Web2 tech startup, we’d aim for Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange.”
The fear of being abandoned by retail investors and exchanges is the “Sword of Damocles” hanging over every project. “What does listing require? New users. And where are new users? In emerging markets,” James continues. “They need new people. But how do you reach them when they don’t even know what Web3 is?”
Jambo’s Rise in Africa: Earning Trust
In 2022, Jambo secured $7.5 million in seed funding and $30 million in Series A funding, attracting nearly all the top Western crypto funds. Reflecting on the challenges: “Breaking into African markets was extremely difficult,” James recalls. “No one knew what crypto was.”
To overcome this, James and his team adopted the most grassroots promotion strategy possible. “Two words: ground promotion,” James replies succinctly—a tactic familiar to Chinese audiences but unheard of in Western markets. “Just like Alibaba sent hundreds or thousands of people door-to-door to promote their services, which led to their success today—we did the same in Africa.” They repeatedly explained the advantages of the JamboPhone and helped users earn rewards on the platform. Initial outreach was tough. In the Congo, where crypto was unknown and skepticism ran high, “You have to convince people you can change their lives—but they’ve been scammed too many times,” James says. “Help them earn real money. Only when money lands in their pockets will they believe you.”
“Our main users are young people. Imagine a 20-year-old guy in Nigeria buys our phone—he sees 15 pre-installed apps. Jambo is just his wallet.” This precise user targeting enabled Jambo to rapidly capture market share.
Our Goal: Creating New Crypto Users
Perhaps shaped by his unique upbringing, while many perceive Africa as a “backward” continent, James sees immense potential. Africa has a very young population, with an average age of just 18—indicating a vast youth demographic eager to adopt new technologies. “Our entire user base reflects this,” James explains. “Help these young people earn money, and they’ll become loyal users.” He adds: “I think any founder tackling this needs to have grown up across multiple countries to truly understand local realities. Growing up in Africa exposed me to problems and needs vastly different from those in developed nations. This background helps me敏锐ly identify pain points in emerging markets.”
In regions lacking modern banking infrastructure, crypto payments and blockchain technology find unique applications. “Africa’s 4G user base is growing fast, projected to reach 300 million by 2025,” James notes. “This massive user base offers huge room for our business to expand.”
“Our goal is to create new crypto users for the market—not just recycle existing ones,” James emphasizes.
Excerpt from the Interview:
JoyChen: What first got you interested in crypto?
James Z: I grew up in the Congo. The environment there exposed me to a lot of injustice and hardship. After moving to New York for university to study computer science, surrounded by friends studying finance, I initially thought finance wasn’t worth learning—so I focused on computer science. Around 2015, I first encountered Ethereum and believed it represented the future. I bought some ETH, made a little money, lost some—no big deal—and gradually learned more about the technology. If I’d been bolder, I might have started building something right after graduating in 2017, but I was probably too young to be taken seriously. I’m grateful to my sister, who suggested I start in venture capital instead—she’s now my co-founder. Right after graduation, I entered the industry as an investor. Before going to New York, I’d never even heard of crypto in Africa. The scene wasn’t active at all. It wasn’t until 2016–2017 that crypto took off, especially as Bitcoin surged and retail interest followed.
Looking back now in 2024, nobody really understood crypto back then. Cryptocurrency only gained traction among retail users in 2016–2017 due to Bitcoin’s price surge. People only believe in something once they’ve made money from it.
JoyChen: Did you ever consider other industries, like traditional finance?
James Z: Most of my friends at NYU went to business school and joined finance. But because I grew up in Africa, I never found finance interesting—it felt like something humans invented. If I weren’t doing this, I’d probably play professional basketball.
JoyChen: Did the idea of building a phone come first, leading you to target Africa—or did your experiences in Africa inspire you to build something there, and the phone or infrastructure emerged as the best starting point? What was the sequence?
James Z: Let me explain the problem we wanted to solve, why we did it, and how. The problem is simple: cross-border payments, especially in emerging markets like South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. A common trait in these regions is that most people go straight to mobile phones, skipping desktop computers entirely.
We focused on user acquisition through device distribution. VCs usually avoid hardware because it’s less scalable than software, but we chose hardware as a means to distribute software into users’ hands. Our phone sells for $99 in emerging markets—cost equals price, so we break even. Our goal is to distribute as many devices as possible, preloaded with Web3 apps.
From day one, we knew entering these markets required hardware support. Hardware startups are tough—they demand supply chains and distribution channels. We pre-install our software to better promote Web3 applications, partnering with various companies to offer incentives so users can earn tokens through preloaded apps and then cash out via the Jambo platform. Our advantage lies in providing a distribution channel for emerging market users and collaborating with strong partners to deliver quality content.
JoyChen: Your expansion into African markets must have had some tough moments. Since I’ve never been to Africa, I’m not sure if marketing there works like in North America, Asia, or Southeast Asia. How did you sell your very first phone?
James Z: Two words: ground promotion. That’s it. For Chinese listeners, this sounds normal—but Westerners don’t understand how deep “ground promotion” goes. It’s not just us—think Web2 giants like Alibaba, Meituan, or Dianping. They acquired users through on-the-ground efforts, offering incentives. That’s ground promotion: from Tier-1 cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen down to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. In Web3, no one has done this yet. Web3 is close to money—maybe you issue a token and do many things—but nobody has actually brought users into real Web2-style business models through field sales.
If you visit our website, you’ll see three key metrics: First, the countries where we sell phones—we’re now in over 120 countries, meaning global coverage. Second, units sold—around 500,000 so far, though we aim higher. Third, number of new wallets created.
We started promoting in the Congo, where nobody knew what crypto was. The Congo has 150 million people and is one of Africa’s largest countries by area, yet extremely underdeveloped. Across Africa, only two countries—Nigeria and Kenya—are tech front-runners; others lag far behind.
In Africa, our initial challenge was indifference. When you tell people you’ll change their lives, they say they’ve heard it ten times before—because they’ve been scammed repeatedly. Everyone in emerging markets has been scammed. I’ve been scammed many times myself. When you desperately need money, it’s easy to fall for scams.
Our marketing strategy: ask nothing from users except their time. Give us one chance—spend time on our platform, whether it’s the phone or app. Even without our phone, you can download our app and earn. With this approach, we attracted many users. You must treat early users exceptionally well—help them earn real money so they trust you. Unfortunately, they only trust you based on how much money you helped them make. If you didn’t help them earn, they won’t believe you.
JoyChen: You mentioned flying periodically to concentrated markets. Where are you headed next? Why open your first physical store in Brazil?
James Z: Our biggest markets today are Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. We opened our first offline store in Brazil—not just to sell phones, but more importantly to raise awareness: to show people we exist, how many users we have, and highlight our partners.
We chose Brazil because it has our largest user base. Though languages differ—Portuguese in Brazil, Spanish in other South American countries, French or English in parts of Africa—it doesn’t matter, because the core problems we solve—cross-border payments, remittances—are universal across emerging markets.
Despite language differences, these markets face identical core issues: underbanked populations, difficult cross-border payments, and remittance challenges. Both individual and enterprise users need solutions. Cryptocurrency and Web3 technologies can help solve them.
We aren’t inventing cryptocurrency—we’re leveraging it to help users. Educating users is hard because people hate admitting they don’t understand new concepts. That’s why we’re launching courses at universities to teach what digital currency is and how mastering it can help them earn money. Regardless of location, user needs are largely the same. That’s the service we aim to provide.
JoyChen: What’s the biggest difference between life in Africa and your earlier experiences growing up in China or studying in the U.S.? Are there insights you’d never have gained if not for living in Africa?
James Z: Too many to count. What is Africa like? Why couldn’t I have been born here—even though my family’s been here for three generations? One mosquito bite could kill you from malaria. Beyond mosquitoes, countless invisible viruses lurk. You could die before age three. Life in Africa is dangerous. Why don’t Africans work in Africa? Anyone doing business there knows crypto can solve real pain points. Business owners in Africa know you can’t send money to those who need it—you lack a bank account. All the problems in emerging markets existed decades ago in China and the U.S. Growing up amidst these struggles, seeing your parents face them daily, imprints these issues in your mind.
Then I went to New York to study computer science and finance. In such a developed place, you don’t need to be a genius to see the gap between the U.S. and Africa—it just hasn’t been addressed yet.
JoyChen: Would Jambo have succeeded without your African experience? Or would it have reached the same user scale without a founder like you?
James Z: I often wonder—if someone else were doing this instead of me, maybe they’d already be more successful. Maybe that’s a founder’s insecurity—always feeling like you missed something or didn’t do enough. So much happens every day—like missing Twitter and crypto updates over a weekend and falling behind. I think if someone else with a similar background were leading this, they might succeed faster. You need to have grown up across different countries to truly grasp what’s happening in each. For example, during fundraising in Africa, we raised $7.5M in our first round and $30M in the second, with participation from Tiger Global and Coinbase. The stress was enormous—I went from 95kg to 125kg. How do you convince investors to give you tens of millions when you’re only 26 and no one believes you can pull it off?
JoyChen: If you had to pick one city to live in permanently, where would it be?
James Z: I probably wouldn’t settle permanently in any single country, but there’s definitely one place I’d never stay: the Congo. I grew up there, survived two civil wars, evacuated overnight. Many ask if co-founding a company with my sister is difficult. We’ve faced life and death together—our trust is unshakable.
JoyChen: Did you create Jambo to change the status quo?
James Z: I’m just an ordinary person who saw an opportunity. There’s a lot of unfairness and disparity in the world, especially in financial systems. I saw a chance to possibly change something. Otherwise, you could just buy crypto, hold it, and in ten years multiply your returns tenfold or a hundredfold. But entrepreneurship carries risk of failure.
JoyChen: A term I learned from a friend: “within value.” If you want to deliver returns for LPs and investors, that’s “within value.” But part of it is “beyond value”—if you could truly drive change, what’s the highest impact you hope to achieve?
James Z: Every crypto founder wants the same kind of change. The Bitcoin market cap is still less than one-tenth of gold’s. We’re all still very early. If someone listening to this podcast dislikes everything I’ve said but decides to buy and hold crypto anyway—go ahead. You don’t need to buy Jambo. I’m not pushing my product. I started this company to solve problems.
If you ask if I’ll keep founding companies, probably not—this is just too hard. We already have dozens of developers coding across three different countries. I’m free from 3–6 PM in Asia, but busy from 6 AM to 3 PM, then again from 6 PM onward communicating with teams in Europe, the U.S., and Africa. Being a founder in crypto is much harder than in Web2. In Web2, your workday aligns with your region—9 to 5 in the U.S., maybe dinners in China. But in Web3, there’s no time limit. I’ve never met a founder smarter or more obsessive than me who isn’t exhausted—working from 6 AM to 11 PM is normal. But our goals are the same. If you’re listening, you likely already understand what we’re trying to do: believe in cryptocurrency, and hope more people join to learn and participate.
To access the full episode:
Xiaoyuzhou FM Podcast:
https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/episodes/66a36c0d7349f7a557b95349
YouTube: https://youtu.be/xuxkCGgOPLg
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