Luno, HuruPay, and Lisk EMpower Fund

In Africa crypto news this week, blockchain platform Lisk has created a $15M Web3 investment fund for startups in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the LATAM region. With more funding, startups in Africa and emerging economies will receive the much-needed support and fast-tracking growth in the region.

The Ghanaian-based payment platform Hurupay is introducing a feature that will allow users to trade U.S. stocks using stablecoins. They are also launching an “Earn” feature where lenders can earn up to +10% APY. Stablecoins are now a core part of crypto, commanding over $300Bn, per Coingecko.

Meanwhile, Luno has won the MyBroadband 2025 award for top crypto exchange in South Africa. Luno is one of the leading and regulated exchanges in Africa, and with a presence in South Africa and Nigeria, this win highlights its pivotal role in promoting crypto adoption in Africa.

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Let’s look at these stories making continental headlines this week:

Africa Crypto News: Lisk Creates A $15M Fund For Blockchain Startups

Lisk, the Ethereum layer-2 platform for launching scalable dapps and targeting developers in emerging economies, has created the EMpower fund to support blockchain startups in Africa, Southeast Asia, and LATAM countries.

The layer-2 is leveraging the fact that venture capital and Silicon Valley overlook most startups in developed countries. EMpower will have about $15M in total, with up to $250,000 available for promising startups.

Today, the Lisk EMpower Fund goes live — a $15M venture fund backing founders in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. 🌍

Our mission: close the capital gap and support proven products on their path to global scale.
👉 https://t.co/IzZIVAIvwl

The opportunity ahead 🧵 pic.twitter.com/uHAF091ANI

— Lisk (@LiskHQ) October 2, 2025

Gideon Greaves, the head of investment strategy at Lisk, stated that founders in Africa and emerging economies have demonstrated their ability to create widely used products even with limited access to venture capital. He predicts that these founders will go on to develop the next generation of unicorns.

The idea now is to find potential where it exists and help it grow. Three startups, including Lov Cash from South Africa, and Afrikabal, an agritech platform, are early funding recipients.

Africa and Asia will be the primary drivers of population growth globally in the next few decades. Funding these startups could also be a lucrative long-term bet considering the potential future size of these markets.

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Ghana Crypto News: Hurupay Introduces Stablecoin Trading For U.S. Stocks

Cross-border payments platform Hurupay is introducing an “Invest” tool for its users to trade U.S. stocks on the platform using stablecoins. This move marks a strategic expansion for Hurupay to go beyond payment services and offer more.

September wasn’t just another month on Wall Street, it was history in the making.
For the first time in over 15 years, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded one of their strongest Septembers. 🚀 Investors are calling it a signal of bullish momentum, and the energy is only… pic.twitter.com/HEGgKrOtDL

— Philip | Hurupay (@philip_hurupay) October 1, 2025

As it expands its service offerings, they are also engaging with regulators. Of note, the payment platforms positions itself as among the first companies to offer crypto products compliant with Ghana’s developing laws.

Hurupay has primarily focused on international payments in its first few years of operation. The remittance market for diaspora Africans is massive but has stiff competition.

By offering more savings and investment tools, Hurupay looks to give its users more reason to utilize the platform fully.

The payment platform operates from Ghana, with a presence in Kenya, Nigeria and many other countries internationally.

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South Africa Crypto News: Luno wins MyBroadband Exchange of the Year award

Luno exchange has been awarded the MyBroadband exchange of the year in South Africa for its operations in the South African market.

MyBroadband is South Africa’s biggest IT news website and reports on crypto and fintech trends within the country regularly.

Luno continues to be the largest exchange in South Africa and won the award for its popularity and reliability.

The exchange launched relatively early in this market and has built a solid brand in its 12 years of existence.

A recent move to expand access to tokenized US stocks has further cemented the platform’s position as the leading exchange in South Africa.

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