The founders we back say more about what the Lisk EMpower Fund stands for than any statement could. This week, we’re starting a short series highlighting the first four we’ve partnered with, beginning with @AFRIKABALHQ 🧵

The Lisk EMpower Fund was built to do more than deploy capital. It exists to back founders solving real bottlenecks in high-growth markets, where adoption is high, but access to funding remains low.

Afrikabal is one of those teams. They’re rebuilding the rails of trust in African agriculture using blockchain and AI to make trade verifiable, payments instant, and accountability shared across the value chain.

For founder Tejiri Jesse, this wasn’t theory. He watched his father deliver harvests that took months to grow, then wait weeks for payment. Those delays weren’t inefficiencies. They were lost stability, lost trust. Afrikabal was built to change that.

Its platform connects farmers, buyers, and logistics providers through three systems: • AXK Escrow — releases funds instantly once goods are verified • AXK Omni — enables real-time settlement via mobile money and banks • AXK Insurance — provides automated cover for climate or logistics shocks Every transaction leaves a verifiable trail.

It’s infrastructure for reliability, not speculation. And it’s already gaining traction: → Graduate of Google’s Accelerator and CV Labs → Backed by the Rwanda Development Bank → Growing user base across buyers and cooperatives

With support from the Lisk EMpower Fund, Afrikabal is scaling its programmable trade infrastructure - making payments faster, settlements smoother, and systems more transparent for farmers and buyers across Africa.

Afrikabal is one of the first four companies in the Lisk EMpower Fund’s portfolio, alongside teams in logistics, digital identity, and financial access. Together, they show what builder-first capital in high-growth markets looks like.