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The offer funding between , paid in $USDC, for teams building real-world blockchain applications using Circle’s developer stack.

This includes:

In addition to funding, grantees receive product and compliance support, technical mentorship, co-marketing, and potential referrals to .

“The applicants’ creativity and ambition pushed us to dig deeper and ultimately select the projects we believe will move the industry forward,” Circle said in its announcement.

The five African projects selected in Cohort 4 are:

This cohort represents a step-change for African participation. Only one African startup was selected in the second round, rising to three in Cohort 3, and now five in the fourth.

We are excited to announce that Flipeet Raise is now part of @circle Grant Program, Cohort 1.
Our mission is to help amazing startups raise money from anywhere in the world using USDC. We will be launching beta for a select few of startups in the coming weeks
LFG! pic.twitter.com/CMZoBSxxUO

— Flipeet Raise (@FlipeetRaise) June 11, 2025

This surge aligns with broader trends in the region, where USDC adoption is accelerating across use cases – from remittances and savings to B2B cross-border trade.

As VC interest in crypto cooled globally, stablecoins have become the most adopted crypto asset across many African markets. Platforms like , and all partnered with Circle’s infrastructure – now process billions in cross-border and intra-Africa payments using stablecoins as settlement tools.

$USDC and $USDT dominate stablecoin flows in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. Circle, however, is pushing harder into developer ecosystems – building out infrastructure and tooling to create long-term Web3 rails.

LIST | Here Are Popular African Fintechs You Did Not Know Are Leveraging #Stablecoins

A lot of these fintechs have obfuscated their stablecoin offerings making it quite difficult to know if they’re leveraging stablecoins to achieve this.

See list below:https://t.co/AsdaNxw8AS pic.twitter.com/anf9k3TlV2

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 22, 2025

In contrast, has taken a grassroots approach:

• Making equity investments in African startups like , , and .

FUNDING | @Tether_to Expands in #Africa with Investment in @ShigaDigital Targeting FX and Treasury

The Shiga Digital partnership is expected to serve legacy sectors such as oil and gas – industries with considerable FX exposure and treasury needs.https://t.co/Fp0qUHNN6G $USDT pic.twitter.com/q84J44tu1t

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 10, 2025

Tether’s model seems to be working much better compared to Circle’s approach in Africa with little traction for $USDC compared to the massive growth of $USDT.

[TECH] STABLECOINS | ‘We Have 400 Million Users in Emerging Markets – We’re Basically Pushing Dollar Hegemony, Selling U.S Debt Outside the U.S,’ Says Tether CEO: Tether is currently the 17th largest.. https://t.co/B9NgyF7CeK via @BitcoinKE

— Top Kenyan Blogs (@Blogs_Kenya) March 9, 2025

Circle’s initiative is part of a broader shift in how crypto startups raise capital. With traditional VCs pulling back, , especially in markets like Africa.

These grants not only offer a financial runway but also grant credibility – opening doors to deeper integrations, product adoption, and eventual Series A funding.

And with Circle’s push into compliant, regulated stablecoin use – evidenced by its approval in Japan and its expanding presence in global financial infrastructure – African grantees are well-positioned to build products that scale across regions.

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