The company, Chipper Cash, raised a new round of $100 million, and its valuation now exceeds $2 billion 3bsinghtechcrunch. This is the most significant fundraising in the tech world in several years. We take a closer look at the technology behind the startup, as well as the team.
Chipper Cash raises $100 million in Series C
Chipper Cash is a fintech startup that facilitates cross-border payments across Africa. Its services are available in seven key Sub-Saharan African countries.
Chipper Cash has developed software to provide free and instant cross-border payments. To date, the company has over four million users. It offers various payment solutions for merchants, investors and consumers.
The company plans to expand operations beyond Africa. It recently opened offices in the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition, it has launched crypto products in Nigeria and Uganda. And, in December of last year, it launched social payments through Twitter.
Chipper Cash was founded in 2018 by two African entrepreneurs. Co-founders Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled worked at Yahoo and Imgur before launching the business. They have over 200 employees in Africa.
The startup offers various services, such as cash payments, investing, virtual Visa cards and a paid service for businesses to receive payments. The company claims to have four million active users, with an average of 80,000 transactions a day.
Chipper Cash’s valuation skyrocketed to $2 billion
Chipper Cash, a crypto-based fintech startup, offers a no-fee cross-border payment service for Africa. The company has a suite of products and services designed to help its customers make purchases, pay bills, and even make crypto-related investments. This includes a mobile app that lets users buy stocks, send money to friends and family, and buy bitcoin.
Among its 350 employees, one-third are based in the U.S. The company recently raised $280 million from Deciens Capital. It has also expanded to the UK, and has laid off a small fraction of its workforce. Despite its successes, it remains to be seen whether or not it can maintain its current valuation.
Other startups have followed suit, with the fintech industry swelled by hundreds of new entrants. Among the more prominent names are Sudo Africa, Flutterwave, and Stitch.
The FTX group is a crypto exchange that has invested in a slew of African companies, including a Nigerian based Nestcoin. Earlier this year, the group processed billions of dollars monthly in Africa.
Chipper Cash’s technology
The startup firm Chipper Cash is a venture capital technology firm that provides cross-border payment services to African countries. It serves seven African nations, including Rwanda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Chipper Cash, founded by Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, enables peer-to-peer money transfer between the U.S. and other African nations, and also offers outflow payment services in some countries. Founded in 2018, Chipper Cash has raised several rounds of venture capital funding. Earlier this year, it received two back-to-back equity rounds worth $150 million.
In April, the company announced plans to expand into the minishortner United Kingdom. Currently, it operates in seven African nations and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Since its launch, Chipper Cash has been able to attract a massive user base. It is processing an average of 80,000 transactions a day. Approximately $100 million is being processed on a monthly minishortner basis.
Recently, Chipper Cash announced the addition of two remote workers to its United States team. This is an important part of the firm’s plan to expand geographically.
Chipper Cash’s team
In the past few months, Chipper Cash has been laying off employees. TechCrunch reported that the company has reduced its workforce by about 15%. While many startups have reduced their headcount in the last few weeks, this is the first time that an African fintech company has laid off employees.
One reason for the layoffs could have been the insolvency of FTX, a now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange platform founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. FTX financed more than a quarter of the $100 million in Chipper Cash’s extension round. As part of the deal, users of FTX will have the option to pay with Chipper Cash.
The company also plans to expand its Tip Jar integration to the U.S. by the end of the year. Its platform is used in seven African countries. Several celebrities have endorsed the company, including Burna Boy and Patrice Evra.
The company has been conducting crypto tests in South Africa and Uganda. The company is planning to roll out the service in other countries by the end of the year.