Venture founded by Luno's original creator, MoneyBadger, bags $400,000 in pre-seed funding.
South African crypto payments startup, MoneyBadger, founded by Carel van Wyk and Carl Kritzinger, has made significant strides in expanding its Bitcoin payment infrastructure. Originally launched in 2022 following a request from Pick n Pay, a large South African grocery chain, to embed Bitcoin payments at checkout, MoneyBadger has successfully integrated its system into over 1,600 retail outlets across the country, including supermarkets, fashion stores, and convenience chains.
The startup utilizes the Bitcoin Lightning Network to facilitate fast and cost-effective transactions, often faster and cheaper than traditional tap-to-pay methods using credit cards. As a result, MoneyBadger processes over R1.4 million in monthly crypto transactions, with Pick n Pay contributing significantly to this volume.
Notable partnerships have been established with Luno, VALR, Blink, and Aqua, which have adopted MoneyBadger's proprietary QR scanning technology. Bitcoin purchases across Luno Pay's network have totaled over R20 million since its November 2024 launch, with current monthly volumes near R2 million.
In a bid to further expand its reach, MoneyBadger recently secured a $400,000 pre-seed funding round, led by P1 Ventures and backed by crypto-native angel investors. A portion of this investment was made in Bitcoin, reflecting the company's commitment to the cryptocurrency.
The funding will be used to expand MoneyBadger's merchant footprint by partnering with Tier 1 payment providers, e-commerce platforms, and QR-code payment networks. This aims to increase the adoption of Bitcoin payments across South Africa and potentially beyond. The company also plans to grow its team and expand its services to additional markets on the continent, further solidifying its position in Africa's crypto payments landscape.
Hisham Halbouny, Managing Partner of P1 Ventures, described the investment in MoneyBadger as a bet on crypto's practical use case in frontier markets. "While the West debates regulation, Africa is where the future of crypto utility is being written," said Halbouny.
Moonshot, Africa's top gathering of founders, creatives, and tech leaders, will return to Lagos on October 15-16, where MoneyBadger is likely to be a key player in discussions about the future of crypto payments and decentralized finance. Early bird tickets for Moonshot are currently 20% off.
- MoneyBadger, the South African crypto payments startup, utilized part of its $400,000 pre-seed funding for investing in Bitcoin, demonstrating the company's commitment to cryptocurrency.
- As the crypto landscape in Africa expands, MoneyBadger plans to increase its merchant footprint by partnering with Tier 1 payment providers, e-commerce platforms, and QR-code payment networks.
- With significant monthly crypto transactions and notable partnerships established, MoneyBadger's QR scanning technology is set to facilitate cryptocurrency payments across various African retail outlets, including supermarkets, fashion stores, and convenience chains.
