Bitcoin remittance startup BitPesa, which has operations in Kenya and Ghana, has raised follow-on funding of US$1.1 million within a year of its launch, and now plans to roll out services in Tanzania and Uganda.
BitPesa allows individuals to remit money in Bitcoin that the company then converts into physical currency, and has also recently started the sale of Bitcoin in Kenya and Ghana.
The startups’s most recent funding round took its total investment to over US$1.7 million, with the latest raise lead by Pantera Capital Management with support from Crypto Currency Partners, Stephens Investment Management and existing shareholders such as the Bitcoin Opportunity Corporation and Future/Perfect Ventures.
Dan Morehead of Pantera Capital Management has joined BitPesa’s board of directors, with the company set for further expansion, notably in Tanzania and Uganda.
“We will now be expanding across the region to meet the demand for truly low-cost international transfers,” said Elizabeth Rossiello, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the startup.
“BitPesa is just one-third of the price of banks and traditional remittance companies, and is the only company filling this market gap in East Africa and now Ghana. Keep an eye-out for our fresh new site design and launch of Bitcoin buy/sell in Tanzania and Uganda in the next few weeks – as BitPesa keeps up the pace making the fastest, easiest and lowest-cost international transfer products for Africa.”
