# Stellar Development Foundation launches $30 million fund to power startups leveraging blockchain

> SDF launched a $30 million Matching Fund to co-invest in early-stage companies building on Stellar, with first investments supporting payroll, remittances, NFTs, and cross-border payments across Latin America and Africa.

**Metadata**

- Published: 2022-03-15
- Original publisher: `stellar.org`
- Original article: https://stellar.org/press/stellar-development-foundation-launches-30-million-fund-to-power-startups-leveraging-blockchain
- Tags: Investment, Emerging Markets, Financial Inclusion

## Summary

The Stellar Development Foundation announced a $30 million Matching Fund that co-invests alongside lead investors, matching up to $500,000 per company for pre-seed to Series B startups building on Stellar. The Fund addresses capital access gaps in underdeveloped venture ecosystems, particularly for financial services solutions. First investments include Trace Finance (cross-border payments in Latin America), Bitwage (crypto payroll services), Afriex (remittances in Africa), and FanVestor (NFT crowdfunding platform). The initiative targets real-world use cases addressing inflation, affordable remittances, and capital access challenges.

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*Source: https://lumenloop.com/news/stellar-development-foundation-launches-30-million-fund*