The Nigerian fintech, which provides bookkeeping and finance management tools for small businesses, is discontinuing its agency banking business, KippaPay.
The startup also plans to lay off 40 employees associated with the product.
In an official announcement, the company declared that KippaPay would be discontinued starting November 15. Sources also claim layoff notices have been sent out to affected staff, with their final day set for November 30.
In September 2022,Kippa secured a super agent banking licence and then launched KippaPay. The startup’s late entry into the agency banking market was a disadvantage considering market leaders like TeamApt—now MoniePoint—and OPay both had headstarts in 2018. Also, the Nigerian economy was already struggling, making Kippa’s target customers price-sensitive.
The devaluation of the naira made matters worse, increasing the cost of acquiring and maintaining POS terminals. This compounded Kippa’s difficulties as it competed with well-established players in the field.
However, the company says the decision to discontinue KippaPay is part of a strategic effort to streamline its product offerings and focus on the most financially viable and successful aspects of its business.
A source familiar with the company suggests that in the coming months, Kippa is also considering the possible discontinuation of Kippa Start, its business registration service that allows customers to register their small businesses online for ₦20,000 ($26).
This would leave the company focusing on its core bookkeeping app, which has been popular among small business owners and reportedly has over 500,000 users.
