Chipper Cash has secured a $100 million valuation from investors including Capital Kene Okafor and FTX Ventures. Its latest round of funding is an extension of its Series A, which saw FTX financing more than a quarter of the amount.
Fintech in Africa is a goldmine
African fintech companies are paving the way for a new generation of financial services. They are revolutionizing how people send and receive money. The rise of smartphone ownership and cashless payments have created an opportunity for this industry.
With 1.2 billion people on the continent, Africa is a vast gold mine for the fintech industry. A plethora of companies are offering solutions to financial problems in a wide range of industries, including payment rails, mobile wallets, and digital currency.
The African financial sector is still considered underdeveloped. Yet, the industry is experiencing a boom, fueled by the young, fast-growing, and rapidly urbanizing population. Fintech startups are enabling a new generation of financial services, such as mobile wallets and crypto-trading and investment.
Although the sector faces a number of economic and political challenges, many investors see the African market as a promising place to scale. In fact, the African fintech space has seen a surge of merger-and-acquisition activity.
Laurence Fishburne’s net worth has been steadily growing over the years, thanks to his continued involvement in the entertainment industry.
FTX financed more than a quarter of Chipper Cash’s extension round
FTX is one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges. According to the Financial Times, it has more than $2 billion in funding from investors, including Silicon Valley’s top venture capitalists.
The company plans to expand into financial services, such as payment systems and social payments. Its first investment is an African company, Chipper Cash, a cross-border payment platform.
Chipper Cash offers a no-fee cross-border payment service to consumers in seven African countries. Last month, Chipper acquired fintech startup Zoona in Zambia.
In the future, the company plans to launch a social payments service that allows users to pay content providers through Twitter. This type of service has become a booming industry, and is expected to grow in the coming years.
FTX financed more than a quarter of the extension round for Chipper, which raised $150 million from investors. It was FTX’s first investment in Africa.
PalmPay vs SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Sequoia Capital China-backed OPay
The race to occupy the fintech space in Africa has never been more intense. Tech unicorns like Jumia, Uber, and OPay are vying to be the next big thing, and Chinese investors are making an effort to get a piece of the action.
There’s a new contender in the African payments space: PalmPay. With funding from Chinese tech firms, PalmPay entered the Nigerian payments scene in June. It offers a range of financial services to consumers, from rewards programs to low-cost money transfers. However, it’s not a slam dunk for the startup to become a major player in mobile payment markets.
Another startup, Wapi Pay, aims to bridge the gap between Africa and Asia. It raised US$2.2 million in pre-seed funding last year. Founded in Kenya, it’s focused on remittances between the continent and its Asian neighbors.
OZE has raised a $3 million pre-Series A round
Founded by Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, Chipper Cash is a cross-border payments startup that provides no-fee services to Africans. Its founders said the company has over five million customers in Africa.
The startup recently partnered with Twitter and Tip Jar to allow its users to pay with cryptocurrencies. However, the company has yet to make that integration available in the U.S.
OZE’s business app collects customer and payables data and generates performance metrics. It has a client base of 125,000 small businesses in Ghana and Nigeria.
The startup plans to expand to other African markets. Its average loan is $5,000 with a 36% APR. In addition, it offers monthly business seminars.
The company has recently launched a payments integration, which allows its customers to accept bank transfers in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as a card. In addition, the business app has an on-demand business coach and offers daily tips.
Chari has secured a $100 million valuation
Chipper Cash Africa is now one of the five unicorns in Africa. The startup has raised a total of $250 million. Its founders are Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled. They have plans to expand in Morocco, Tunisia, and other French-speaking African countries.
Chipper Cash offers a no-fee cross-border payment service for Africans. Last month, the company acquired Zambian fintech firm Zoona.
Chipper Cash also partnered with DriveWealth, a financial services company, to offer stocks to Ugandans. Payment disbursement is handled through the partnership. The company has a significant base of users in seven African countries.
This spring, Chipper Cash raised a $100 million Series C round and an extension round of $150 million. In addition, it plans to acquire a local credit company to offer loans to shop owners. Moreover, the company plans to expand its BNPL services in Morocco, Tunisia, and other countries in the French-speaking African countries.
