Nigerian fintech Paystack is laying off 33 workers in Europe and UAE, the company’s CEO, Shola Akinlade confirmed this in a tweet on Thursday.
Akinlade stated that layoff is as a reduction of Paystack’s operations outside Africa.
“We’re changing our operating model to prioritise locating team members within the markets we serve, to localise costs and get closer to customers.”
Akinlade added that the impacted employees will receive a four-month severance package that includes an extension of health insurance by three months, an acceleration of equity vesting, and four months’ income.
Nigeria, where the local currency has lost more than half of its value since June of this year, is Paystack’s main market. The value of the shilling has decreased by about 20% from this time last year in Kenya, the fintech’s second market. The fintech also has operations in Ghana and South Africa, two countries where inflation is still eating away at people’s purchasing power and creating problems for governments and companies.
The parent firm of Paystack, Stripe, let off 14% of its employees in November of last year. The US payment giant reportedly cut staff again in June of this year, according to The Information.
The layoffs is coming at a time when Paystack is growing its product line to capitalise on the rise in electronic payments in Nigeria, its main market. The fintech, which is owned by Stripe, unveiled a direct debit solution in October that will let Nigerian companies bill their clients’ bank accounts straight.
