The Key to Building a Successful Web3 Company? Pick Your Cofounder Wisely

Codebase

Kparobo Abala and Agbona Igwemoh started their journey as entrepreneurs at a young age driven by cultural curiosities and early exposure to the benefits of building a business. Born and raised in Nigeria, Abala and Igwemoh coincidentally met at a family wedding and shortly after, a professional collaboration was born. “Pick your cofounder wisely, pick someone you like because at the end of the day, you’re looking at them from a human perspective,” says Igwemoh.

From creating and distributing first-to-market essential publications for college students, taking over generational family businesses, becoming voracious readers and pursuing a handful of other creative financial endeavors along the way, Abala and Igwemoh had the foundational knowledge to pursue entrepreneurial ventures that led them to develop Chiss Protocol–a winning project born out of Web3 accelerator Codebase by Avalanche.

“Before joining Codebase, our biggest challenge was conceptualizing what we wanted to build. Up until then, we had built Finna, a regulatory-compliant custodial solution that empowers users to combat inflation through innovative stablecoin-backed products,” says Igwemoh. “We wanted to create a fully permissionless, on-chain solution that operated independently of restrictive regulators—giving users true freedom based on blockchain principles. Working with Codebase’s storytelling coach helped us crystallize our vision for Chiss and within weeks, we had a clear understanding of what Chiss would become, and that clarity was invaluable.”

Inspired by the Star Wars character, Grand Admiral Thrawn, a member of the Chiss race, the project carries the Chiss name for one key reason according to Igwemoh, “Thrawn is seen as incredibly effective despite being portrayed as a villain. In a universe filled with superpowered beings, [Thrawn] stands out as a regular person who uses grit and strategy to win battles and rise as a powerful leader,” says Igwemoh.

(L-R): Kparobo Abala and Agbona Igwemoh in Nairobi, Kenya at Magma Founders Residency by Borderless Africa (October, 2024)

Based in Singapore and Nigeria, Chiss is now building a decentralized and permissionless protocol on Avalanche that aims to evolve foreign exchange (FX) markets for seamless earning, borrowing, and affordable global trade backed by stablecoins. Focusing first on Africa and Turkey as symbiotic regions facing similar inflationary challenges, contrasted by massive consumer adoption of cryptocurrency, "following the users” stands at the center of the duo's operating principles. Nigeria has the second highest cryptocurrency adoption in the world.

According to Chiss, settlements for international transactions from Africa to Turkey can take hundreds of days due to daily volume limits on Turkish Lira to Nigerian Naira currencies. Additionally, fees ranging from 5%-10% per transaction taken by a third party, make business across borders prohibitive for many companies.

Kparobo Abala, CTO of Chiss Protocol brings a wealth of experience to not only Chiss but the Web3 ecosystem at-large. “I was always curious, as a kid I would build and take apart things to see how they worked,” says Abala. After college Abala started “playing more with tech” and moved into the industry full time working with the first [payments processing] unicorn in the region and then as a Senior Software Engineer at the iconic audio visual brand, Dolby Laboratories, before diving into blockchain and financial technology solutions.

When Abala and Igwemoh met, the connection was immediate, logical and instant. Combining Abala’s technical knowledge with Igwemoh’s deep experience as a marketer in tech, Chiss is driven by a dedication to “building a global business that solves the world's problems on a daily basis.” Pulling from a thick resume steeped in marketing expertise, Igwemoh started in blockchain as BEAM’s Lagos Ambassador quickly making an impact in the space moving into the role of Africa Lead for the company. Eventually ascending to Chief Marketing Officer at Kylin powered by Polkadot, Igwemoh built core competencies in narrative positioning and storytelling in the blockchain space.

“We’ve been in full business-building mode—no holidays, just relentless work,” explains Chiss’ founding team. We’ve onboarded a new developer, made significant improvements to the protocol, and are gearing up for testnet. Our advice to anyone considering joining [Codebase] is simple: go for it and give it your all. Once accepted, you’ll receive tremendous support from the Avalanche ecosystem, which is truly immense.”

Just months after being selected as a winning team in Codebase’s Season 2 cohort, Chiss has grown the team, developed a minimum viable product (MVP), and has commitments from several partners in the space as it maps out its Nigeria to Turkey pathway as the main FX corridor. “Make it exist first, then you can make it good later,” says Igwemoh.

About Avalanche Blockchain Network

Avalanche is an ultra-fast, low-latency blockchain platform designed for builders who need high performance at scale. The network’s architecture allows for the creation of sovereign, efficient and fully interoperable public and private layer 1 (L1) blockchains which leverage the Avalanche Consensus Mechanism to achieve high throughput and near-instant transaction finality. The ease and speed of launching a L1, and the breadth of architectural customization choices, make Avalanche the perfect environment for a composable multi-chain future.

Supported by a global community of developers and validators, Avalanche offers a fast, low-cost environment for building decentralized applications (dApps). With its combination of speed, flexibility, and scalability, Avalanche is the platform of choice for innovators pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology.