Ugandan tycoon Ham Serunjogi’s Chipper Cash to acquire Zambian fintech firm, Zoona

Chipper Cash, a pan-African cross-border payment company led by Ugandan tech tycoon and multimillionaire businessman Ham Serunjogi, is set to acquire a Zambian fintech firm, Zoona Transactions International (Zoona).

The planned acquisition of Zoona, a mobile technology company that develops products such as money transfers, electronic voucher payments, and agent payments, aligns with Chipper Cash’s plans to expand its offerings by adding new online services and a new agent network.

The transaction, which is still subject to regulatory approval, would see Serunjogi’s payment company take over all services under the Tilt Africa brand, which has processed more than $3 billion in transactions since its inception in 2008.

The move, which allows the payment company to expand in the Zambian market, will broaden its product suite to include additional online services and an agent network, allowing it to meet its goal of providing the most trusted and accessible financial products for people living in Africa and beyond.

Laura Kennedy, VP of corporate development at Chipper Cash, said Zoona’s acquisition will provide the Zambian fintech startup with “incredible innovation, a great partner network, complementary products and services, and talented in-country teams.”

Zoona Co-Founder and CEO Brett Magrath stated that the transaction will allow the two companies to combine their expertise to connect consumers and businesses across the continent while positioning themselves as Africa’s first-choice provider of financial services.

Chipper Cash, a cross-border payment platform co-founded in 2018 by Serunjogi and his Ghanaian business partner Maijid Moujaled, provides mobile-based, fee-free peer-to-peer payment services in seven African countries: Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya.

It has raised $300 million in venture capital funding at a $2.2-billion valuation since its inception nearly five years ago, and it also has an operational footprint in the UK, allowing money transfers from the country to African markets.