# Pando DAO is driving the African tech ecosystem forward with Yacob, Cheng, Michael & Zach Marks

- Channel: [Ethereum Denver](https://streameth.org/ethereum-denver)
- Date: 2023-10-07
- Duration: 23:24
- Topics: Entertainment
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-Cg2qNGMJ3yg
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg2qNGMJ3yg

## Description

We can assemble a group of founders from Pando DAO to discuss how we came to develop this concept. In a nutshell, we saw serious challenges in the African tech ecosystem around access to talent and capital and myself and my co-founder Yacob started Pariti to address those issues. We then realized that in addition to that, there was another problem. The African tech ecosystem is fragmented; there are 54 countries (or 55 countries depending on who you ask) and we also have the added challenge of it being a low-trust environment where people aren't sharing information and resources. We wanted to harness the community that we at Pariti had built having served over 1500 founders in the past 3 years and create a community of similarly minded founders. We've had amazing traction, having just launched in November and already having the greatest founder community ever seen in Africa. And we have 3 projects underway. Each panelist can share more about their experiences as a founder in Africa and how Pando DAO makes it easier for founders who are getting started now.

https://twitter.com/YacobBerhane
Yacob Berhane
Pando DAO

Cheng Cheng
Founding Member
Pando DAO
Pando DAO founding member, co-founder of Jia.xyz

Michael Daugherty
Founding Member
Pando DAO
Pando DAO founding member, CSO at Angel List, leading on the fund.

https://twitter.com/zmarks215
Zach Marks
Co-Founder & CEO
Jia
Zach Marks is co-founder and CEO of Jia, a DeFi platform connecting investors directly with small businesses in emerging markets. Prior to Jia, Zach led business development at Tala, an emerging markets fintech lender, and worked on financial inclusion initiatives as a McKinsey management consultant. He began his career as an English teacher in India, Brazil and Ethiopia, and has been a Fulbright fellow, a journalist and a prep cook.