Chipper

Chipper Cash, a cross-border payments app used by over five million people throughout Africa and its diaspora has received authorization from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to provide remittance services from the United States of America to the country.

The approval follows on the heels of the fintech being granted an Enhanced Payment Service Provider License by the BoG to begin commercial operations in Ghana last August.

In an interview, the Chief Executive Officer of Chipper Cash in Ghana, Mr Dion Jon Taylor Samson said his outfit was delighted to have received the approval.

He added that Chipper Cash would comply with all the regulations associated with providing the inward remittance service which was a major contributor to national income.

He said: “It is important for us fintechs to continuously work with the Central Bank not only to fully comply but also to make them aware of all our activities so that they may share in our vision and also provide advice and guidance”

Ghana entry

The company’s entry into Ghana was forged in Spring of 2019 when it’s then 27-year-old co-founder Majid Moujaled and 28-year-old Dion Jon Taylor Samson reconnected in Spring of 2019 after not seeing each other for close to 13 years since their last day of high school together.

Majid shared what he had begun working on with Dion who was also keen on bringing Chipper Cash’s excellent service to Ghana. He suggested they set up the Ghanaian entity properly and put measures in place for an effective rollout.

The rollout led by the efficient Dion who is the Chief Executive Officer of Chipper Cash in Ghana involved setting up aggregators, getting a partner bank, forming a fully-fledged corporate body – Critical Ideas Ghana Limited to operate Chipper Cash in Ghana and getting licensed by regulators.

Why Ghana?

According to Mr Taylor Samson, the rapid adoption of digital payment platforms in the country falls in line with its goal to accelerate financial inclusion across Africa.

After Chipper Cash ended 2021 as one of Africa’s most valued fintechs, the FTX-backed startup’s valuation dropped from $2 billion to $1.25 billion after it reportedly received a $35 million simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) grant from the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX. Chipper Cash has also reportedly laid off 50 employees as it seeks to cope with the deteriorated macroeconomic environment.

FTX’s Simple Agreement for Future Equity
Chipper Cash, one of the several African fintech startups to receive funding from FTX, saw its valuation drop from $2 billion to $1.25 billion after it secured additional funding from the now-collapsed crypto exchange, a Techcrunch report has said. The latest revelation came just as Chipper Cash was reported to have retrenched as many as 50 employees.

As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Chipper Cash, which was launched in 2018 by Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, saw its valuation rise to over $2 billion after it received $150 million in a Series C extension round that was led by FTX in late 2021. Before that, the fintech had raised $100 million via its Series C round.

However, according to the Techcrunch report, the drop in the fintech’s valuation stems from the $35 million it received from FTX. Chipper Cash needed the new funding, which reportedly came in the form of a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) grant, to help it deal with a tough macroeconomic environment, the report added.

Pan-African cross-border payment app Chipper Cash is set to acquire Zambian fintech company Zoona Transactions International, according to a statement shared with TechCabal.

This acquisition will allow Chipper Cash, which has a self-reported user count of 5 million, to add new online services and a new agent network to its offerings. This move is also an expansion strategy by the company into Zambia.

According to Chipper Cash’s VP of Corporate Development, Laura Kennedy, Zoona’s acquisition will offer it “incredible innovation, a great partner network, complementary products and services, and talented in-country teams.” For Zoona’s co-founder and CEO, Brett Magrath, this acquisition allows the two companies to combine their expertise to connect consumers and businesses across the continent while positioning themselves as the first choice provider of financial services for the people of Africa.

Zoona pioneered the Zambian tech ecosystem when it was founded in 2008, developing the Tilt service that enables individuals and companies to pay and transfer to bank and money mobile providers in the country through cash, its digital channel, or its network of over 450 interoperable agents. The fintech, whose emergence coincides with the start of Africa’s mobile money industry, has processed over $3 billion worth of transactions since launch. In 2020, the Zambian company sold its business in Malawi to Cape Town-based payments company Mukuru, as it refocused its business to a B2B model.

CEO Ham Serunjogi founded Chipper Cash with Maijid Moujaled, who currently serves as the payment company’s President, in 2018 to offer fee-free personal and cross-border payment to Africa. Since then it has raised $300 million in venture capital funding and is now valued at $2.2 billion. Its services are available in Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa and Kenya, as well as in the UK and US.

“Bringing these companies together under the Chipper umbrella will mean we can open up even more borders, bringing quality financial services to life in more countries and connecting more people across the continent,” Kennedy said.

Chipper Cash did not share the financial terms of the transaction. The acquisition deal is also subject to the approval of relevant authorities.

Chipper Cash, an African cross-border payments company startup valued at slightly over $2 billion, has reportedly laid off many employees.

This comes about one year after the company announced that it had raised $150 million in a Series C round led by Sam Bankman-Fried’s now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX, and a few weeks after announcing its acquisition of Zambian fintech company Zoona.

This news was confirmed by the company’s VP of Engineering, Erin Fusaro, in a post on LinkedIn. Fusaro stated that while she was not affected by the layoffs, many of her close colleagues and friends were.

She also offered to connect people looking for talent in engineering, technical program management, and IT and encouraged those who were let go to reach out to her for help finding new jobs.

As of today, the company has not issued an official statement on the matter. The exact number of employees affected by the move remains unknown, but it is believed to be a significant portion of the company’s workforce.

Chipper Cash offers a no-fee peer-to-peer cross-border payment service in Africa via its app. Founded in 2018 by Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, the company’s services are used across seven African countries: Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya.

​​In November 2021, six months after closing its first Series C round of $100 million, Chipper Cash announced that it had raised an additional $150 million in a Series C extension round led by the now-bankrupt FTX. This was FTX’s first investment in Africa.

Speculation is that FTX and its sister entity Alameda Research may have required the companies in their portfolio to hold their assets on the FTX exchange as a condition of their investment.

However, if this requirement did exist, it only applied to some companies in their portfolio, as TechCrunch reports that Chipper Cash was not exposed to the collapse of FTX, according to people familiar with the company’s dealings with FTX.

Chipper Cash was one of several African startups that have received venture capital from FTX and Alameda Research. Others include African web3 startup Nestcoin, Nigeria- and Kenya-based web3 company MARA; South African crypto exchange startup VALR; Congolese web3 startup Jambo; and Nigerian crypto exchange platform Bitnob.

Last month, Nestcoin laid off employees after FTX’s collapse impacted its business. CEO Yele Bademosi shared the news in a tweet, explaining that Nestcoin held assets in the now-defunct exchange to manage operational expenses.