Nigerian cryptocurrency startup Yellow Card nets $1.5 million in seed round

Nigerian cryptocurrency startup Yellow Card — which is aiming to make it easier for consumers in Africa to buy and sell cryptocurrency — has announced a $1.5 million seed round.

Investors in the new round include Polychain, Andreessen Horowitz, and Celo, through Celo Ecosystem Fund. Yellow Card said it will use the funding to expand its operations and “become the dominant exchange across the continent.”

The company said it recently expanded into South Africa and Botswana and added 30,000 new vendors. Starting September 1, the service will also launch in Kenya and Cameroon, according to a statement. Yellow Card announced the hiring of former senior director of payment services at Walmart, Jason Marshall, as the startup’s chief operating officer.