Jambo

Jambo is a Web3 mobile network built around an affordable crypto-native smartphone targeting emerging markets in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Founded in 2021 by siblings James and Alice Zhang from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the company aims to bring blockchain technology and financial services to populations underserved by traditional banks. The thesis is direct: if you give people a low-cost device with crypto built in, the barrier to entering Web3 drops to almost nothing.

The flagship product is the JamboPhone, a $99 Android smartphone pre-loaded with Jambo’s full suite of applications. It includes a multichain non-custodial wallet, a questing platform where users earn by completing tasks, and a dApp marketplace showcasing partner projects. Think of it as a crypto exchange, a game console, and a bank account combined into a device that costs less than a dinner for two in most Western cities.

The platform’s use cases break into four areas. JamboEarn lets users complete on-chain and off-chain quests to earn rewards through Play-to-Earn, Learn-to-Earn, and Engage-to-Earn models. JamboWallet is a multi-chain non-custodial wallet supporting mainstream blockchains that enables users to store, send, and receive crypto without a bank account. JamboPlay serves as a portal for decentralized games and applications. The platform also plans decentralized physical infrastructure where JamboPhone devices can be used for validator nodes, location services, and data hotspots. Every feature connects back to one goal: turning a phone into an income-generating tool for people in regions where formal employment and banking access are limited.

Jambo was founded in 2021 and moved quickly. That year, it raised $7.5 million in a seed token round with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Delphi Digital, Tiger Global, and several notable industry angels. In May 2022, the company closed a $30 million Series A led by Paradigm, marking Paradigm’s first investment in Africa. The JamboApp launched in September 2023. The JamboPhone launched on January 11, 2024, in collaboration with the Aptos Foundation to improve access to digital technology in emerging markets.

The growth that followed was substantial. By the end of 2024, Jambo had secured over 870,000 phone orders generating more than $85 million in revenue and registered over 9 million wallets within a year. In March 2025, co-founder James unveiled the JamboPhone 2 during the Solana Breakpoint main stage, delivering hardware and software upgrades while keeping the price accessible. The company expanded production capacity to over 200,000 devices per month to meet demand across more than 120 countries.

Jambo’s Series A included participation from ParaFi Capital, Pantera Capital, Delphi Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Gemini Frontier Fund, BH Digital, Graticule Asset Management Asia, Shima Capital, and Morningstar Ventures. The seed round brought in Coinbase Ventures and Tiger Global. A subsequent major funding round was led by Paradigm with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, and Tiger Global to accelerate global Web3 adoption. Paradigm’s Casey Caruso described the investment as a bet on James and Alice Zhang being “uniquely positioned to build a durable on-ramp” for emerging markets. That kind of conviction from a top-tier crypto-native firm carries real weight.

The $J token launched in January 2025 on Solana, with listings on major exchanges including OKX, KuCoin, Bybit, and Bitget. The total supply is fixed at 1 billion tokens. $J functions as a multi-utility currency that serves as a decentralized exchange method for participants across the Jambo platform. Practically, it powers three things: rewarding users for completing quests and engaging with partner applications, staking for additional yields, and governance over protocol decisions. The token launch in January 2025 also initiated an airdrop program for early participants to incentivize community engagement.

The $J token is accessible on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges for standard purchases. For larger positions, locked tokens, or SAFT notes, Acquire.Fi’s OTC and Secondaries Marketplace is the right venue for that.

You can buy Jambo tokens OTC on Acquire.Fi by engaging with existing sell listings in the marketplace that match your target price and token amount. If no current listing fits, you can submit a new Buy listing with your preferred valuation and quantity.

You can also sell Jambo tokens OTC if you hold a position and want to exit. Browse active Buy listings to find a match, or submit a new Sell listing with your asking price and the amount you want to offload.

From there, Acquire.Fi takes over. The team runs background checks, issues non-disclosure agreements, and introduces you to your counterparty. You and the other party handle due diligence and payment settlement. Acquire.Fi is not a broker-dealer, but the team stays involved to help both sides get to a close.