Connect with us

Economy

Chipper Cash Secures $100m for Expansion

Published

on

Chipper Cash

By Adedapo Adesanya

African cross-border payments startup, Chipper Cash, has raised a $100 million Series C led by a United States-based Venture Capital (VC) firm, SVB Capital.

Founded by Messrs Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled in 2018, Chipper Cash offers mobile-based, no fee, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) cross-border payment services, across up to seven African countries — Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa and Kenya.

The company is also present in the United Kingdom, the first country it has expanded to outside Africa.

Business Post reports that with its latest round of funds, the organisation said it plans to introduce more products and grow its team.

The company has raised up to $152 million in just two years with $8.4 million raised in two seed rounds in 2019 and then in June 2020. It followed this by raising $13.8 million Series A led by Deciens Capital and by November 2020, it closed a whopping $30 million Series B led by Ribbit Capital and Bezos Expeditions.

Chipper Cash CEO speaks

Speaking on the latest round of funding with Tech Crunch, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Serunjogi projects that Chipper Cash is likely the most valuable private startup in Africa.

“We have launched cards products in Nigeria and we’ve also launched our crypto product. We are also launching our US stocks product in Uganda, Nigeria and a few other countries soon.

“Our approach to growing products and adding products is based on what our users find valuable. As you can imagine, crypto is one technology that has been widely adopted in Africa and many emerging markets. So, we want to give them the power to access crypto and to be able to buy, hold, and sell crypto whenever,” the CEO added.

“As fintech explodes and as innovation continues to move forward, consumers have to be protected. We invest millions of dollars every year in our compliance programs, so I think working closely with the regulators directly so that these products are offered in a compliant manner is important,” Mr Serunjogi told Tech Crunch.

This, however, cements the company’s status following Flutterwave (a private startup) valued at over $1 billion and Jumia (a public company) currently valued at $2.6 billion, this round should put Chipper Cash’s valuation anywhere between $1 billion and $2.5 billion.

However, Mr Serunjogi refuses to focus on valuations and would rather set his sights on growing his team and launching interesting new products so as to expand the footprint of the firm.

“We’re not getting into our valuation, but we’re probably the most valuable private startup in Africa today after this round. So that’s a reflection of the environment that regulators like CBN have created to allowed innovation and growth,” he said.

As of June 2020, the company stated that it plans to hire over a hundred staff in addition to its workforce of 200 workers. Its users have reportedly increased to 4 million, up 33 per cent from last year while it claimed to process 80,000 daily transactions in November its current transaction volumes have not been disclosed.

As for products, the company seems to be planning other products in addition to the crypto platform it launched in 2020.

“We’re also launching our US stocks product in Uganda, Nigeria and a few other countries soon,” he said.

Mr Serunjogi claims the company is already engaging regulators ahead and lauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for fostering innovation in the fintech sector even after a regulatory clampdown on cryptocurrencies and foreign stocks trading.

“Nigeria has probably the most exciting and vibrant tech ecosystem in Africa. And that’s credit directly to CBN for creating and fostering an environment that allowed multiple startups like ourselves and others like Flutterwave to blossom,” he added.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Economy

Petrol Supply up 55.4% as Daily Consumption Reaches 52.1 million Litres

Published

on

sufficient supply petrol

By Adedapo Adesanya

The supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, increased by 55.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis to 71.5 million litres per day in November 2025 from 46 million litres per day in October.

This was contained in the November 2025 fact sheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday.

The data showed that the nation’s consumption also increased by 44.5 per cent or 37.4 million litres to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, against 28.9 million litres in October.

The significant increase in petrol supply last month was on account of the imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited into the Nigerian market from both the domestic and the international market.

Domestic refineries supplied in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.

The NMDPRA noted that no production activities were recorded in all the state-owned refineries, which included Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, in the period, as the refineries remained shut down.

According to the report, the imports were aimed at building inventory and further guaranteeing supply during the peak demand period.

Other reasons for the increase, according to the NMDPRA, were due to “low supply recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end of year festivities, and twelve vessels programmed to discharge into October, which spilled into November.”

On gas, the average daily gas supply climbed to 4.684 billion standard cubic feet per day in November 2025, from the 3.94 bscf/d average processing level recorded in October.

The Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 also maintained a stable processing output of 3.5 bscf/d in November 2025, but utilisation improved slightly to 73.7 per cent compared with 71.68 per cent in October.

The increase, according to the report, was driven by higher plant utilisation across processing hubs and steady export volumes from the Nigeria LNG plant in Bonny.

“As of November 2025, Nigeria’s major gas processing facilities recorded improved output and utilisation levels, with the Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 processing 3.50 billion standard cubic feet per day at a utilisation rate of 73.70 per cent.

“Gbaran Ubie Gas Plant processed 1.250 bscf per day, operating at 71.21 per cent utilisation, while the MPNU Bonny River Terminal recorded a throughput of 0.690 bscf per day during the period. Processing activities at the Escravos Gas Plant stood at 0.680 bscf per day, representing a 62 per cent utilisation rate, whereas the Soku Gas Plant emerged as the top performer, processing 0.600 bscf per day at 96.84 per cent utilisation,” it stated.

Continue Reading

Economy

Secure Electronic Technology Suspends Share Reconstruction as Investors Pull Out

Published

on

Secure Electronic Technology

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The proposed share reconstruction of a local gaming firm, Secure Electronic Technology (SET), has been suspended.

The Lagos-based company decided to shelve the exercise after negotiations with potential investors crumbled like a house of cards.

Secure Electronic Technology was earlier in talks with some foreign investors interested in the organisation.

Plans were underway to restructure the shares of the company, which are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

However, things did not go as planned as the potential investors pulled out, leaving the board to consider others ways to move the firm forward.

Confirming this development, the company secretary, Ms Irene Attoe, in a statement, said the board would explore other means to keep the company running to deliver value to shareholders.

“This is to notify the NGX and the investing public that a meeting of the board of SET held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as scheduled, to consider the status of the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation as approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 16, 2025.

“After due deliberations, the board wishes to announce that the proposed share reconstruction will not take place as anticipated due to the inability of the parties to reach a convergence on the best and mutually viable terms.

“Thus, following an impasse in the negotiations, and the investors’ withdrawal from the transaction, the board has, in the interest of all members, decided to accept these outcomes and move ahead in the overall interest of the business.

“The board is committed to driving the strategic objectives of SEC and to seeking viable opportunities for sustainable growth of the company,” the disclosure stated.

Business Post reports that the share price of SET crashed by 3.85 per cent on Tuesday on Customs Street on Tuesday to 75 Kobo. Its 52-week high remains N1.33 and its one-year low is 45 Kobo. Today, investors transacted 39,331,958 units.

Continue Reading

Economy

Clea to Streamline Cross-Border Payments for African Importers

Published

on

Clea Payment platform

By Adedapo Adesanya

Clea, a blockchain-powered platform that allows African importers to pay international suppliers in USD while settling locally, has officially launched.

During its pilot phase, Clea processed more than $4 million in cross-border transactions, demonstrating strong early demand from businesses navigating the complexities of global trade.

Clea addresses persistent challenges that African importers have long struggled with, including limited FX access, unpredictable exchange rates, high bank charges, fraudulent intermediaries, and payment delays that slow or halt shipments. The continent also faces a trade-finance gap estimated at over $120 billion annually, limiting importers’ ability to access the FX and financial infrastructure needed for timely international payments by offering fast, transparent, and direct USD settlements, completed without intermediaries or banking bottlenecks.

Founded by Mr Sheriff Adedokun, Mr Iyiola Osuagwu, and Mr Sidney Egwuatu, Clea was created from the team’s own experiences dealing with unreliable international payments. The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.

The platform will allow local payments in Naira with instant access to Dollars as well as instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options and transparent, traceable transactions that reduce fraud risk.

Speaking on the launch, Mr Adedokun said, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”

Mr Osuagwu, co-founder & CTO, added, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer. By connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”

According to a statement shared with Business Post, Clea is already working with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform and is also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in key import hubs. The company remains fully bootstrapped but is open to strategic investors aligned with its mission to build a trusted global payment network for African businesses.

Continue Reading

Trending