Chipper Cash executes second round of layoffs less than three months after axing 12.5% of staff • ClassyBuzz
African cross-border funds platform Chipper Cash performed a second round of layoffs final Friday simply ten weeks after it minimize roughly 12.5% of its workforce (affecting its engineering group probably the most).
The corporate’s V.P. of income shared the information on LinkedIn, saying “all areas” throughout Chipper Cash’s markets have been impacted this time. “Friday was a tragic day for Chipper Cash, as many proficient folks have been let go,” his put up read. “For my community: there may be an extremely proficient pool of people throughout the U.S., U.Okay., South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and extra. They’re all extremely skilled in managing very complicated, multicultural groups and initiatives in fintech. All areas have been impacted, from Recruiting, HR, Advertising, Pricing, Product, Analytics, UX, Analysis, Authorized, and extra.”
In line with a number of local outlets, Chipper Cash relieved nearly one-third of its workforce, about 100 staff. Chipper Cash didn’t affirm the precise quantity of roles affected when ClassyBuzz reached out however mentioned the studies are comparatively correct. Thus, along with the primary round of layoffs, the five-year-old funds and crypto startup has let go of over 150 staff within the final three months to chop prices amid a torrid interval for personal and public tech firms globally.
“The final two years have been a interval of fast progress and scaling for us as a enterprise and, to replicate this, our world headcount grew by round 250 folks,” mentioned CEO Ham Serunjogi in a press release to ClassyBuzz. “Nonetheless, given the macroeconomic local weather, we’re narrowing our present focus to core markets and merchandise – concentrating our efforts the place we all know we will thrive. With this hyper-focused prioritization, the fact is that we, sadly, want a smaller group at Chipper.”
Additionally, Chipper Cash denied reports that it shut down its crypto division, which homes crypto merchandise, one of its three essential merchandise, together with FX and airtime. “Chipper is one of the biggest crypto platforms in Africa at the moment, and it stays one of our fastest-growing merchandise. We’re excited in regards to the future of crypto in Africa and proceed to spend money on the product,” Serunjogi added.
Serunjogi based Chipper Cash in 2018 with Maijid Moujaled to supply Africans with a no-fee peer-to-peer cross-border cost service. The corporate says it has over 5 million clients throughout Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa and Kenya — and extra lately, the U.S. and U.Okay., the place the FTX-backed startup expanded final 12 months to facilitate peer-to-peer cash motion from each nations to pick areas in Africa.
Final November, the African cross-border cost app introduced that it might acquire Zambian fintech company Zoona to develop into Southern Africa. And the next month, within the wake of FTX’s chapter, we reported that the African fintech, which has raised over $300 million from buyers together with the defunct crypto change, SVB Capital and Ribbit Capital, noticed its valuation slashed from $2 billion to $1.25 billion, in line with documents displaying Alameda’s enterprise capital portfolio.
Chipper Cash provides to a listing of Africa-focused firms and crypto firms which have laid off staff in latest months, together with Jumia (900 staff), Yoco (15% of its workforce, in line with sources), and Luno (35% of its workforce).
