BitPesa, a blockchain payments platform for Africa today announced Greycroft as its lead investor in a follow-up to its Series A funding round. The platform revealed that it has reached $10 million in total funding.
The platform stated that its 25% month-on-month growth for nearly two years demonstrates that its initial model of using Bitcoin blockchain to lower the cost and increase the speed for payment processing to and from emerging markets works for businesses. Elizabeth Rossiello, founder and CEO of BitPesa, stated:
“We keep raising because we have grown above and beyond projections. We have expanded across Africa and Europe added a stellar roster of Fortune 100 companies as clients and are receiving growing support from regulators. Global companies trading in Africa see the immediate value and efficiency of using BitPesa, as they know the pain of using existing cross-border payment services in these markets.”
BitPesa also claims to be the first company using bitcoin to receive an authorized payments license in the UK in 2015 from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The company operates in various African countries, including Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania. It has five offices in two continents. Alan Patricof, founder and Managing Director of Greycroft. commented:
“Bitcoin and cryptocurrency will play an important role in the payments and money transfer industries and even more so in the developing world for which BitPesa is ideally positioned.”
Scott Robinson, Vice President at Plug and Play, which is also another investor of BitPesa, shared:
“BitPesa promises to revolutionize the exchange and payment markets in Africa, disrupting monopoly incumbents and opening the fastest growing economies in the world to foreign companies. We’re very excited for the team’s vision and current execution which bolsters payment avenues throughout the region.”
Rossiello added:
“BitPesa now has its group headquarters in Luxembourg to focus on French speaking Europe and an office in Senegal to focus on francophone Africa so this is a very strategic partnership for us The speed of bitcoin payments has increased and this move ensures that technology can continue to have an “industrial use,” underscoring how strongly people believe in it. We’re experiencing an exciting moment for the firm and for the industry.”