Chapa
“Can a developer-first payment gateway become the financial infrastructure layer for businesses across Ethiopia and Africa?”
Founded2020
HQAddis Ababa, Ethiopia
FoundersIsrael Goytom, Nuredin Ali
Total raised$200K
Latest roundGrant, 2024
IndustryFintech / Payments
The story
Founded in 2020 as Ethiopia's first developer-friendly online payment gateway, Chapa set out to solve the fundamental friction of digital payments in East Africa. The company quickly demonstrated real-world impact by building Eyezon Ethiopia—a diaspora donation platform that raised $6M in three months. By 2025, Chapa had expanded beyond pure payment acceptance into embedded finance infrastructure, launching Virtual Accounts and Instant Payouts, positioning itself as the financial operating layer for Ethiopian and broader African businesses.
Product timeline
2020
Chapa Financial Technologies Share Co. established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by a team of home-grown engineers and entrepreneurs.· pivot
2021
Developed and launched Eyezon Ethiopia in partnership with CBE, NDRMC, and the Ethiopian Diaspora Agency to centralize international donations for IDPs, raising over $6M in 95 days.· banking
2023
Launched developer-facing API documentation and public payment gateway accepting cards, mobile money, and bank transfers for Ethiopian merchants.· payments
2025
Released Virtual Accounts API and Instant Payouts via dashboard, enabling merchants to create sub-accounts and settle funds in real time.· banking
2025
Chapa AI Research (ChAIR) published Bilicho, an AI documentation assistant using GPT-3.5 Turbo and RAG for developer support.· pivot
The stack
1 layer disclosed in Chapa’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Chapa (self-operated)
Accounting gap: significant