Gigbanc, a prominent Nigerian financial technology startup that specializes in cross border payment solutions for Africa’s growing remote workforce, has announced it is winding down its operations after three years of business. Management cited an increasingly punitive global fundraising climate and unsustainable operational overhead as the primary drivers behind the decision.
Founded in 2023, the neobank carved out a niche by offering tailored financial services to freelancers, digital creators, remote workers, and small enterprises. However, despite its early promise, the company became the latest casualty of a broader venture capital contraction across Africa’s technology ecosystem.
Speaking to the technology publication TechCabal, Paul Omoregie Okundaye, the co founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gigbanc, expressed pride in what the company had accomplished under challenging conditions.
“We built Gigbanc with a simple belief: that Africa’s talent deserves financial infrastructure worthy of its ambition,” Okundaye said. “Looking back, we are incredibly proud of what our team, our community, and our users achieved together.”
The startup’s closure underscores the structural obstacles facing early-stage, business to consumer (B2C) fintech platforms on the continent. Beyond a tightened venture capital market, the company pointed to escalating compliance and operational costs as critical pain points that strained its financial runway.
“The high KYC [Know Your Customer] and infrastructure costs needed for a B2C cross border payment product were very challenging,” Okundaye explained.
Faced with these compounding headwinds, management actively explored structural alternatives, including a potential pivot of its core business model. However, securing the necessary capital injection to execute a transition proved impossible.
“Thus, management felt selling the company was the best option,” Okundaye noted.
While the startup did not publicize specific figures regarding its recent fundraising efforts, it confirmed that it is currently in acquisition talks with an undisclosed Nigerian fintech infrastructure provider. If successful, the deal could preserve portions of the company’s proprietary technology or infrastructure.
In an effort to ensure an orderly wind-down and minimize disruption for its user base, Gigbanc has established a clear off-boarding window. The company announced that customers have until July 31 to convert their digital balances to Nigerian naira and withdraw all non-fraudulent funds to local bank accounts, a service the company will facilitate free of charge.
