James Z: The Innovative Journey from Africa to Web3

The Web3 industry is rapidly developing globally, with emerging markets becoming the focus of many projects. Jambo is a project dedicated to providing Web3 solutions for emerging markets, and its founder, James Z, has a unique background and perspective.

James grew up in Congo, and his family has been in Africa for three generations. He was exposed to diverse cultures from a young age and later studied in the United States and China. While studying computer science at New York University, he first encountered cryptocurrency and purchased Ethereum. After graduating, he gained experience in the investment field and eventually came up with the idea to found Jambo.

The inspiration for entrepreneurship comes from James's background. He observed common issues in Africa, such as the lack of bank accounts and difficulties with cross-border payments. These problems have been addressed in developed countries but still persist in emerging markets. James believes that these differences exist simply because no one has taken the initiative to solve them.

Jambo's goal is to address issues such as cross-border payments, remittances, and unbanked populations in emerging markets. They launched the JamboPhone, priced at $99, aimed at providing users with a low-cost entry into the Web3 world. As of July this year, over 460,000 JamboPhones have been sold globally, with users activating more than 1.8 million non-custodial wallets.

During the initial promotion phase in the African market, Jambo faced significant challenges. Local residents were skeptical of new things and often fell victim to scams. James adopted the most basic promotional method—ground promotion. They repeatedly explained the advantages of the product to users and assisted them in earning profits on the platform. James emphasized that only by genuinely helping users make money could they earn their trust.

Jambo mainly targets young users. The average age of the African population is only 18 years, which means there are a large number of young people who are curious about and receptive to new technologies. James expects that by 2025, there will be 300 million 4G users in Africa, providing significant growth opportunities for Jambo's business.

James believes that entrepreneurship requires experience living in multiple countries to truly understand the demands of different markets. His multicultural background enables him to keenly capture the pain points of emerging markets. Despite the challenges of the entrepreneurial process, James remains committed to his ideals, hoping to bring change to emerging markets through Jambo.

Regarding the future, James stated that Jambo's goal is to create new cryptocurrency users for the market, not just to repeat existing users. He believes that as digital currencies become more popular, more people will be able to participate in and benefit from this technological revolution.