Nigeria’s Bitmama Raises $2 Million After Crossing 70K Users in 2022

Nigerian crypto startup, Bitmama, has raised $1.65 million in a pre-seed extension round, to add to the $350K already raised to make a total of $2 million.

The latest investment round was led by:

• Adaverse (Cardano)
• Flori Ventures (CELO)
• Tekedia Capital
• GreenHouse Capital
• ODBA
• Five35 Ventures
• Chrysalis Capital
• Enrich Africa
• Thrive Africa
• Angellist Ventures
• Rene Reinsberg (CEO, CELO)
• Marek Olszewski (Co-Founder, CELO)
• Honey Ogundeyi

Bitmama started in 2017 as a P2P digital currency exchange and quickly grew into a platform to trade and manage cryptocurrencies and digital assets conveniently.

Currently, the firm has operations in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana where customers can use the app (Android and iOS) for these 4 services:

• Trade listed cryptocurrencies
• Use a debit card for regular online payments
• Pay Utilities
• Perform activities such as staking

Prior to creating the exchange, Bitmama began as a Whatsapp group where members could learn about cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, and they could also make transactions.

By building a platform, Bitmama’s WhatsApp users could now buy, sell, and swap cryptocurrencies on a P2P level.

Speaking about this evolution, Ruth Isilema, CEO, Bitmama, said:

“Today, we offer a trusted platform for cryptocurrency transactions. We are building technology that will redefine the way people do financial transactions through blockchain technology.

Many people wanted to make transactions aside from buying and selling of crypto, so we built stuff that could also let them buy local and international airtime and data. Then, due to local bank card limitations of $20 monthly spend, we provided virtual dollar cards for Nigerians to make international purchases.” – CEO, Bitmama

The company, through a new service called Changera, offers virtual cards to facilitate payments for such services as Netflix and Amazon. The VISA-powered cards are funded with stablecoins and users get a limit of up to $10,000 in monthly transaction value.

According to Isilema, Bitmama is usually the first to introduce products to the African market.

“For instance, we were the first to launch QR codes for offline onboarding. Even when we launched the crypto cards, we were the first to do that, and we have a couple of innovative products we’re bringing out that will be the first in the market. We want to keep that momentum.” – CEO, Bitmama

With the investment confirmed, Bitmama highlighted a few objectives for its growth including:

• Expand its operational presence
• Strengthen its team across different markets
• Consolidate its product offerings
• Plot market penetration across Africa, while rapidly scaling new use cases for cryptocurrency within the continent

Bitmama, has already grown from 20,000 to 70,000 users in 2022 so far, is also pursuing B2B customers. It is currently testing out a B2B API product that will let businesses offer crypto products directly to its customers.

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