African fintech company Chipper Cash has secured $30 million in a Series B funding round led by Ribbit Capital, a U.S.-based venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments.
About Chipper Cash
Established in 2018 by Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, Chipper Cash facilitates peer-to-peer (P2P) cross-border payments across seven African nations: Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The platform boasts 3 million users, a significant achievement in just two years.
The startup’s appeal lies in its free cross-border transfers within its operating countries, making it a standout in the space.
A Timeline of Rapid Growth
In May 2019, Chipper Cash raised $2.4 million in seed funding from Deciens Capital, reporting 70,000 active users at the time. By December 2019, the company secured $6 million in a Series A round led by Deciens Capital and Raptor Group. During this period, its user base had grown to 600,000, and it was processing 3 million transactions.
Today, Chipper Cash reportedly adds 10,000 users daily and processes 80,000 transactions per day.
Monetizing Free Transfers
Despite offering free P2P transfers, the company generates revenue through Chipper Checkout, a merchant-focused payment solution introduced in May 2019. This fee-based product supports cross-border transactions for businesses, mirroring strategies used by companies like PayPal, which monetized merchant services while keeping consumer transactions free.
Co-founder Serunjogi emphasized the long-term strategy behind this approach, stating: “By offering our product for free, we are not in a pricing war. Our value proposition will reveal itself over time.”
New Features and Innovations
In recent developments, Chipper Cash introduced a feature enabling users to trade Bitcoin using currencies like the Nigerian Naira, South African Rand, and Ugandan Shillings.
Additionally, the platform plans to launch a fractional stock trading feature in Nigeria, allowing users to invest in companies such as Amazon and Tesla. This move positions Chipper Cash as a competitor to platforms like Bundle, Rise, and Bitsika.
The company also aims to expand its API payment solutions to meet growing demand from users looking to facilitate business transactions.
A Milestone Investment
The Series B round saw participation from Bezos Expeditions, the personal venture capital fund of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. This marks Bezos’ first investment in an African tech company, underscoring the growing global interest in Africa’s fintech sector.
Bezos Expeditions has previously invested in notable companies like Twitter and Stack Overflow, but its investment in Chipper Cash represents a new chapter in its portfolio and highlights the rising potential of African startups in the global tech ecosystem.
