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BitPesa
BitPesa is a pan-African platform redefining how businesses make payments to and from sub-Saharan Africa. Focused on using cutting-edge blockchain technology to increase efficiency across markets, BitPesa opens corridors for business payments and trade between Africa and the rest of the world.
Main information
- Country: Kenya
- Headquarter: Nairobi
- Type: Payment processor
- Round: Series A
- Cost: $2.5 million
- Date: 30-Jan-2017
- Investors: Draper VC, Greycroft LLC, Digital Currency Group, Pantera Capital Management, Blockchain Capital, Zephyr Acorn, FuturePerfectVC and BnkToTheFuture
BitPesa offers bitcoin based mobile micropayments solutions for the underbanked and unbanked in African continent. Offering both personal and merchant services The company’s services are integrated to mobile money, which is a huge payment service in the region. The company is looking to expand its operations in the form of strategic partnerships with companies in other South East nations, Europe and USA, According to records, BitPesa has received about $1.7 million in series A funding.
History
BitPesa was founded in November 2013 with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya and offices and staff in Lagos, London, Luxembourg and Dakar.
By the end of May 2014, BitPesa launched its beta site with a service that allowed users to send money to any mobile money wallet in Kenya.[1] At the end of December 2014, customers in Kenya could buy bitcoins on the platform. BitPesa launched in Tanzania in May 2015 allowing customers to send Tanzanian Shillings to three mobile networks in the country.
In November 2015, BitPesa launched in Nigeria and Uganda.[2] By January 2017, BitPesa had closed a $2.5 million Series A funding round of 2M to focus on becoming the largest licensed payment company in the UK, Europe and Africa that offers real-time settlement at wholesale FX rates to frontier and emerging markets.[3] By August 2017, BitPesa had raised $10 million Series A funding led by Greycroft Partners.[4]
In November 2017, BitPesa serves both African and international businesses making payments to and from Africa in additional countries, including Senegal and the DRC.
Links
BitPesa Official website
@BitPesa on Twitter
