As many suspect that the African Fintech firm Chipper Cash which was backed by the fallen financial giants Silicon Valley Bank and FTX, could be facing financial problems, the company CEO Ham Serunjogi issued a statement on Tuesday claiming that the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank had little impact on Chipper Cash.
Serunjogi disclosed that Chipper Cash was holding only $1 million in its Silicon Valley Bank account by the time it was shut down. He added that the bank had already delivered its investment funds to the company prior to its collapse.
Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report released on Monday claimed that Chipper Cash is exploring the possibility of a sale. In response to the rumors, Serunjogi said the company has no plans of being acquired.
What’s Chipper Cash?
Chipper Cash is a platform that allows people living in Africa to send and receive payments. In addition, the firm lets users buy, send and receive cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin USDC and Ethereum.
The three tokens posted declines following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday but have since recovered after the US agencies, including the Fed, US treasury, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, confirmed that all depositors would be made whole.
Chipper Cash CEO has reiterated that Silicon Valley Bank’s failure did not interrupt customer operations and that the company has several other banking partners in the US.
Nonetheless, Serunjogi acknowledged the massive role that Silicon Valley Bank played in Chipper Cash’s early days.
He explained that when he was attempting to open Chipper Cash’s first bank account about five years ago, Silicon Valley Bank was the only financial institution that accepted the company. Serunjogi added that he is saddened by the fall of the bank, which he says was a pillar of the Chipper Cash ecosystem.
Chipper Cash Becomes Africa’s Most Valuable Startup
In May 2021, Chipper Cash became the most valuable startup in Africa after raising $100 million in a funding round led by Silicon Valley Bank. Later that year, the payment company managed to raise an extra $150 million from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.
However, Chipper Cash association with FTX brought the firm’s value down to $1.25 billion from $2 billion. Also, weeks after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection, Chipper Cash announced laying off 12% of its workforce.
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