Latest news with #Onafriq
Zawya
22-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Strategic push for pan-African payment solutions as Onafriq appoints new executive
Africa's digital payments network, Onafriq has announced the appointment of Simon Black as an independent non-executive director on the Board of Directors of its holding company, Onafriq UK Holdings Limited, effective immediately. A highly respected leader in the global fintech ecosystem, Black brings over three decades of experience building and scaling payments and technology platforms to support Onafriq's next phase of growth. Black has earned industry-wide recognition for transforming high-potential fintech and software businesses into market leaders. During his tenure as chief executive officer of PPRO from 2015 to 2023, he steered the German-based payments infrastructure provider from an emerging start-up to a formidable global player, driving revenue growth beyond €100m while expanding the team to more than 500 professionals across many markets. Previously, as chief executive officer of Sage Pay, Black orchestrated tenfold revenue growth, establishing the company as a leading force in SME e-commerce payments. Guiding transformational growth Black's appointment underscores Onafriq's commitment to assembling world-class leadership capable of propelling the company's infrastructure across Africa and beyond. His global perspective and proven success in forging partnerships with industry giants will prove invaluable as Onafriq cements its position as the definitive network of networks for African payments. Black's appointment comes at a transformative moment in Onafriq's journey, said Dare Okoudjou, founder and chief executive officer of Onafriq. "To fulfil our mission of making borders matter less across Africa, we must build upon strong foundations to create an even more resilient and innovative business. Black's exceptional track record of scaling fintech leaders and navigating complexity makes him the ideal chair to guide this next phase." His strategic expertise will be instrumental as we strengthen our position as Africa's payments infrastructure backbone and accelerate financial inclusion throughout the continent. As Chair, Black will work closely with Okoudjou, the executive team, Board, and the shareholder base to provide strategic guidance, focusing on cross-border scale, global partnerships, and long-term value creation. 'Joining Onafriq is not only a professional privilege, but a personal commitment to a mission I deeply believe in,' said Black. The company has built what is arguably the most extensive and sophisticated digital payments infrastructure on the continent—connecting over 500 million wallets and 200 million bank accounts across 42 African markets. "That scale, combined with a deep understanding of local markets, uniquely positions Onafriq to solve the continent's most pressing payment challenges. I'm excited to support the team in shaping the future of cross-border finance in Africa and enabling seamless commerce at a scale the world hasn't seen before."
Zawya
27-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Ripple and Chipper Cash join forces to unlock faster and more cost-effective crypto-enabled payments across Africa
San Francisco/Lagos – Ripple, the leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, and payments provider Chipper Cash have today announced a new partnership to support cross-border payments into Africa using Ripple Payments, which leverages digital assets for faster, cheaper, more efficient cross-border payments. By leveraging Ripple's crypto-enabled payments solution Chipper Cash, which has five million customers in nine countries across Africa, will enable consumers to receive funds from around the world 24/7/365 - reducing the time and friction to make moving value into Africa dramatically more efficient. 'Our partnership with Chipper Cash marks a key milestone in the expansion of Ripple's business in Africa. Consumers and businesses across the continent are increasingly recognizing the potential of blockchain technology, and we are excited to bring our crypto-enabled payments solution to our partners in the region,' said Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, at Ripple. 'By integrating our technology into Chipper Cash's platform, we're enabling faster, more affordable cross-border payments while driving economic growth and innovation across the markets they serve. With over a decade of experience in tokenizing real-world assets, Ripple's journey began by bringing fiat currencies on-chain to simplify international money transfers. As the global cross-border payments market grows, more institutions like Chipper Cash are tapping into the transformative power of blockchain technology to drive efficiency and innovation." "Crypto-enabled payments have the potential to enable greater financial inclusion, accelerate access to global markets, and empower businesses and individuals across Africa,' said Ham Serunjogi, Co-Founder & CEO at Chipper Cash. 'Through integrating with Ripple's global payments network, we are excited to be able to harness the transformative potential of blockchain technology to enable consumers to receive payments faster and at lower cost.' Ripple's partnership with Chipper Cash expands its payments footprint in Africa which started with Onafriq in 2023. Ripple's simple, secure, compliant digital asset infrastructure means it is well positioned to provide the core services that financial institutions need to tokenize, store, exchange and move digital assets. Ripple Payments has near-global coverage with 90+ payout markets representing more than 90% coverage of the daily FX markets, processing more than $70 billion in volume. Ripple has over a decade of experience in the digital asset space and holds 60+ regulatory licenses and registrations in various jurisdictions. About Ripple Ripple is the leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions—delivering simple, compliant, reliable software that unlocks efficiencies, reduces friction, and enhances innovation in global finance. Ripple's solutions leverage the XRP Ledger and its native digital asset, XRP, which was purpose-built to enable fast, low-cost, highly scalable transactions across developer and financial use cases. With a proven track record working with regulators and policymakers around the world, Ripple's payments, custody and stablecoin solutions are pioneering the digital asset economy—building credibility and trust in enterprise blockchain. Together with customers, partners and the developer community, we are transforming the way the world tokenizes, stores, exchanges, and moves value. About Chipper Cash Chipper Cash is a financial technology company serving more than five million customers across the African continent. In 2018, Chipper Cash revolutionized moving money in Africa by providing a frictionless way to send and receive money cross-border. Since then, Chipper has increased its product suite by offering personal investments and digital business transactions and expanded its reach into the US. Led by co-founders Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, Chipper Cash is focused on its mission to provide the most trusted and accessible financial services for people living in Africa and beyond.
