Pan-African Crypto Exchange Yellow Card Raises $40M Series B Funding

Yellow Card Financial, the Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the close of its $40M Series B funding. The round was led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Valar Ventures, Third Prime, Sozo Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Fabric Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, The Raba Partnership, Jon Weiner, Alex Wilson, Pat Duffy, and more. The funding will enable the company to drive exponential business growth, continue its successful expansion across the continent, develop new product innovations, and advance strategic partnerships across Africa. Chris Maurice, CEO and co-founder of Yellow Card, says that this raise is the result of relentless hard work towards a common goal. “For the past three years, our team has worked tirelessly to make this technology accessible to anyone and create a world-class product. This fundraise, in the current market environment, not only showcases the resilience of our team, but also clearly demonstrates the appetite and necessity for cryptocurrency in Africa,” said Chris. Since launching in Nigeria in 2019 the team, based across 21 countries, has sought to make Bitcoin, Ethereum, Stablecoins, and other cryptocurrencies accessible to anyone in Africa. In August 2021, Yellow Card announced its Series A fundraise of $15M. Since then, the team has achieved significant milestones including:

• Growing from 12 to 16 countries, launching in Gabon, Senegal, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Making significant hires including: Alice Tomdio, Chief Financial Officer; Craig Stoehr, General Counsel and Micha Katz, Chief Information Security Officer.
• Granting stock options to every full-time employee.
• Kaunching Yellow Pay, a crypto-powered way to send value across borders.
• Surpassing 1 million customers in March.

The significance of this raise, especially in a down market, undoubtedly reflects the level of business confidence expressed by new and existing investors. “Yellow Card is the best executing team on the continent. We are impressed by the way they seamlessly adjust and adapt to the unique opportunities and demands of the various African markets. We’ve barely touched the surface of what is possible when it comes to crypto in Africa, and we're excited for what's to come,” said Will Wolf, Partner at Polychain Capital. Yellow Card is committed to continue its mission to create financial inclusion for all through various activities across the continent.