Solana, the smart contract platform, has turned its focus towards decentralized finance (DeFi) in Southeast Asia with a new $5 million development fund.
It has been reported that the Solana Foundation created the fund in partnership with Vietnam-based investment firm Coin98 Ventures, enabling regional startups building on Solana to receive technical, marketing, and community support, as well as up to $100,000 in funding.
However, the fund will run for the next three years with a specific focus on projects within the DeFi and Web3 spaces, including marketplaces, exchanges, and other DApps or tooling.
The report said that this is one of the first grants specifying a core region of interest, with a particular focus on Vietnam.
Eric Williams, the Executive Director of Solana Foundation, said:
“Our goal is to create the optimal conditions for developers in Southeast Asia to build amazing things on Solana.”
The report stated:
“Project teams may be distributed, but must have a physical presence in Southeast Asia.”
Likewise, Williams explained that the foundation partnered with Coin98 Ventures because of the technical and community support it can provide by adding that the key to this fund being successful is the combination of financial and technical support.
Solana Foundation has partnered with Vietnam investment firm Coin98 Ventures to launch a $5 million development fund to boost DeFi in Southeast Asia https://t.co/fMMtGtDAN1 — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 27, 2021
He added:
“Sometimes hurdles can be solved with extra money, other times they cannot.”
Thus, DeFi is gaining traction within the Solana ecosystem by driving trading volume to all-time highs earlier this month.
Source: Cointelegraph