Chipper Cash, which is a leading provider of digital currency to the consumer banking market, is expanding into the U.S.-Africa corridor with a $150 million series C funding round, according to a recent article by Keneoka for TechCrunch Serieswilhelmtechcrunch. SVB Capital also backed Chipper Cash, investing in the company in the first ever African deal for the investment firm. This is part of a larger story involving the bankruptcy of FTX, the investment firm that was the original backer of Chipper Cash.
FTX’s first investment in Africa
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, has made its first investment in Africa. The company plans to expand its networking opportunities in the continent, build infrastructure, and accelerate crypto adoption. It has invested in a number of African startups, including Nestcoin, which is a Nigeria-based Web3 firm, and Chipper Cash, which is a Kenya-based remittance company.
FTX’s first investment in Africa may not necessarily have a direct impact on any of these companies, but it does show that FTX has a significant presence in the crypto ecosystem in the continent. In addition to investing in startups, the exchange has recently piloted digital currency peer-to-peer transfers in South Africa.
FTX also has a partnership with AZA Finance, a Kenya-based financial technology startup. They will collaborate to increase access to digital currencies in Africa and promote the use of Web 3.
FTX has also invested in several other African startups, including Sky Mavis and Circle. It also has partnerships with brokerage trading company DriveWealth.
FTX financed more than a quarter of the extension round
A recent partnership between Africa’s leading digital asset exchange, FTX, and the African fintech outfit, Chipper Cash, will allow FTX users in Africa to transfer funds through the latter’s platform. This is the first investment that FTX has made in the continent.
The partnership will extend the fintech outfit’s network API integration. By integrating the infrastructure of the two companies, developers can use the network to collect payments from clients, while leveraging FTX’s global payment capabilities.
Chipper Cash is a cross-border payments company that allows users in sub-Saharan Africa to send and receive cash from any bank in the U.S., Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ghana. They offer no-fee cross-border payments for businesses and individuals.
In July 2018, FTX financed more than a quarter of Chipper Cash’s $150 million Series C extension round. Other investors included Deciens Capital, SVB Capital, and Ribbit Capital.
Chipper Cash’s valuation skyrocketed from $2 billion to $1.25 billion before FTX’s bankruptcy
Chipper Cash is an African cross-border payments company with more than 5 million customers in Africa. The company’s valuation has been dragged down by a crash in the market and the bankruptcy of a key investor.
Founded in 2018, Chipper Cash was initially launched in San Francisco. Its platform offers mobile-based P2P payment services in seven countries. The company has established presences in Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa and the U.S. and is set to expand into Zambia.
A $100 million Series C round was completed in May. Six months later, Chipper Cash raised another $150 million. At the time, the company said it would make a major acquisition. But now, the business is out of money.
Chipper Cash’s expansion into the U.S. to Africa corridor
Chipper Cash is a fast-growing, African-focused cross-border payments company. It powers instant P2P payments from the U.S., and provides free and affordable personal transfers to Africa.
The startup aims to address the financial challenges of diaspora remittances to sub-Saharan Africa. Its infrastructure allows users to collect, disburse, and transfer payments across seven African countries.
Chipper Cash was founded in October 2018. Its co-founders, Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, experienced money transfer issues while living in Africa. They decided to create an app that would facilitate easy, affordable, and frictionless cross-border money transfers.
The company’s launch in South Africa was a challenge. While it was initially successful, it had several limitations. One of those challenges was dealing with local regulatory issues.
SVB Capital’s investment in Chipper Cash
One of the most exciting companies in Africa’s fintech ecosystem is Chipper Cash, which has the audacious goal of making cross-border payments in Africa free of charge. To kickstart that mission, the company acquired a Zambian fintech startup last month. However, it isn’t just Zambia where the company is making inroads. It also plans to expand its operations outside of the continent.
The company started out as a small start-up, but now has over 200 employees and a product portfolio that includes peer-to-peer and mobile transactions as well as social and mobile payments. In November, the company processed over $100 million in payments, averaging 80,000 transactions a day. For a relatively young fintech company, that’s a respectable feat tv bucetas.
