Nigerian fintech Gigbanc shuts down, enters acquisition talks

Gigbanc, a Nigerian fintech that built cross-border payment services for freelancers, creators, remote workers and businesses, is shutting down after three years as it struggled to secure fresh funding. The startup says it is in acquisition talks with a Nigerian fintech infrastructure provider, although it has not disclosed the company’s name. Customers have until July 31 to convert their balances into naira and withdraw eligible funds to local bank accounts free of charge. The decision reflects the difficult position many early stage startups now find themselves in. Raising capital has become slower, investors are backing fewer companies, and businesses that cannot reach profitability quickly are increasingly having to cut back, seek buyers or close.

Costs piled up

Gigbanc says fundraising was only part of the problem. The company also pointed to the cost of running a consumer focused cross border payments platform. Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, compliance obligations and payment infrastructure all made the business more expensive to operate. “The high KYC and infrastructure costs needed for a B2C cross border payment product were very challenging,” co founder and CEO Paul Omoregie Okundaye told TechCabal. Gigbanc considered changing its business model but said it could not raise enough funding to support the transition. “Management felt selling the company was the best option,” Okundaye said.

Built for Africa’s growing freelance economy

Founded in 2023, Gigbanc targeted Africans earning income from overseas through freelance work, remote jobs and digital businesses. Its platform offered multi currency wallets in naira, US dollars and euros, virtual dollar cards, foreign exchange services, bill payments and transfers to more than 200 Nigerian banks. The startup says it served more than 150,000 users across over30 countries and processed more than ₦10 billion in payments during its lifetime.Beyond its financial products, Gigbanc also built programmes for freelancers and remote workers, including the Global Talent Fellowship, GigConnect and GigSocial.

Another sign of a changing funding market

Gigbanc’s shutdown comes as startup fundraising across Africa continues to shift. Although African startups raised $1.44 billion in the first half of 2026, the number of disclosed funding rounds fell sharply compared with the same period last year. The figures suggest that while capital is still available, investors are writing fewer cheques and concentrating on a smaller group of companies. That has made life harder for younger startups that still depend on external funding to grow. Gigbanc now joins a growing list of companies forced to rethink their future. Earlier this year, Nigerian founded fintech Chimoney shut down after failing to raise additional funding, while cloud kitchen startup FoodCourt paused operations after struggling to sustain its business. For now, Gigbanc says its priority is completing acquisition discussions while customers withdraw their funds before the July deadline.