The app trying to do for Africa what Venmo did for America — make sending money free and instant. Chipper Cash has 5 million+ users across 7 African countries. The free P2P model builds habit. Cross-border transfers and business payments generate revenue. The challenge: the FTX investment created drama, layoffs happened, and African fintech is a brutal operating environment. But 1.4 billion people with growing smartphone penetration need better payments infrastructure. Chipper is building it.
Founded
2018
HQ
San Francisco, CA
Total Raised
$305 million
Founder
Ham Serunjogi & Maijid Moujaled
Status
Private — valued at $2 billion (2022, likely lower)
Website
chippercash.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Ham Serunjogi grew up in Uganda and moved to the US for college. Sending money home to his family was expensive and slow.
He partnered with Maijid Moujaled to build Chipper Cash — a mobile app for free peer-to-peer money transfers across Africa. The insight: within-country transfers should be free (to build the user base), and cross-border transfers would be the revenue driver.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Transaction fees on cross-border transfers, crypto trading commissions, and payment processing fees. Free peer-to-peer transfers within countries (monetized through float income).
Revenue from cross-border transaction fees and B2B payment processing.
THE PRODUCTS
Free P2P Transfers (within Africa), Cross-border Money Transfers, Crypto Trading, Virtual Debit Cards, Business Payments, Bill Payments.
HOW THEY GREW
Expanding from peer-to-peer transfers into business payments, payroll, and financial services. Chipper operates in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Africa.
Also building crypto trading features and a virtual card product for online shopping.
THE HARD PART
Fundraising controversy and market downturn. FTX Ventures invested $150 million in Chipper Cash — money that became complicated when FTX collapsed.
The 2022-2023 funding winter hit African fintechs particularly hard. Chipper had to lay off 25% of staff and restructure.
Operating across multiple African countries with different currencies and regulations is enormously complex.
WHO BACKED THEM
SVB Capital, FTX Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Jeff Bezos, Deciens Capital
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