MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Chipper Cash Raises $100m in Equity to Expand Cryptocurrency, Peer-to-Peer Services, Distribution of Payment Cards in Africa, UK

Chipper Cash, a US-based financial technology (fintech) firm active in Africa, recently raised USD 100 million in a Series C round of funding that it plans to use to expand its product lineup and grow its team, especially in the UK. The funding round was led by Silicon Valley Bank Capital, a unit of US-based Silicon Valley Bank. Other participants in the round, all of which are also US-based, include Bezos Expeditions, Deciens Capital, One Way Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Tribe Capital and 500 Startups. These firms also participated in the Series B round led by Ribbit Capital in 2019. The new investment in Chipper Cash reportedly makes it Africa’s sixth private startup valued at over USD 1 billion.

Founded in 2018 in Ghana and Uganda, Chipper Cash is a “cross-border, peer-to-peer payment service,” operating in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, with expansion to the UK underway. The firm’s services include international money transfers to individuals and businesses as well as cryptocurrency transactions and payment cards that operate within the network of US-based payments firm Visa. During 2020, Chipper Cash’s user base grew by 33 percent to 4 million. As of November 2020, the firm processed approximately 80,000 transactions per day.

By Sophie Fiala, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Quartz Africa article
https://qz.com/africa/2016397/jeff-bezos-invests-in-african-fintech-startup-chipper-cash-again/

Chipper Cash homepage
https://chippercash.com/

Bezos Expeditions homepage
https://www.bezosexpeditions.com/

Deciens Capital homepage
https://deciens.com/

One Way Ventures homepage
https://onewayvc.com/

Ribbit Capital homepage
https://ribbitcap.com/

Silicon Valley Bank homepage
https://www.svb.com/

Tribe Capital homepage
https://tribecap.co/

500 Startups homepage
https://500.co/

TechCrunch article on Chipper Cash
https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/18/african-fintech-startup-chipper-cash-raises-30m-backed-by-jeff-bezos/