Wave cut about 15% of its workforce, affecting roughly 300 employees, and pulled back from newer markets such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Uganda to focus on Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
SourcePublic company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Wave Mobile Money is a Dakar-based fintech building affordable mobile money infrastructure across Africa. Its app and agent network support deposits, withdrawals, peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, airtime, and business payments, with a mission to expand financial inclusion.
Primary product
Mobile money app and business payments platform
Founded
2017
Headquarters
Dakar, Senegal
Team size
1001-5000
Work style
Flexible
Industry
Financial Services
Sub-industry
Mobile money / fintech payments
Offices
0 jobs at Wave
Check back later for new openings
Business model
Stage
Debt financing
Total raised
$442.2M
Latest round
Debt Financing · Jun 2025
Latest amount
$137M
Leadership
Founder & CEO
Regional Director
Chief Technology Officer
Kizito Okute
Head of Agent Operations
Chris Williamson
Head of Payments
Malick Gueye
General Manager, Senegal
Sid Sridhar
Head of Business
Emily Austin
Head of People
Katier Bamba
General Manager, Côte d'Ivoire
Kevin Odiorne
Head of Finance
Founders
Co-founder
Mission-driven, transparent, and product-focused culture with an emphasis on honest feedback, high learning velocity, simple execution, and making work-life balance sustainable.
Work style
Flexible
Compensation
Wave says pay is determined by a transparent formula based on skill and experience, with no negotiation-heavy process.
Benefits
Pricing
Free deposits and withdrawals; 1% fee on money transfers; business payments are free up to 20k CFA/day, then 1%.
Differentiators
Technology
Customers
Competitors
Estimated revenue
$150M-$200M
Estimated monthly visits
495.3K
Wave cut about 15% of its workforce, affecting roughly 300 employees, and pulled back from newer markets such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Uganda to focus on Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
SourceNorfund · Jun 2025
Official press release announcing Wave's €117 million debt financing led by Rand Merchant Bank and development finance institutions, with use of proceeds for expansion across existing and new African markets.
TechCabal · Jun 2025
Reports Wave raised a $137 million debt round led by Rand Merchant Bank, supporting working capital and expansion. The article highlights Wave's low-fee model and scale in West Africa.
TechCrunch · Jul 2022
Reported that Wave laid off about 15% of its workforce, primarily in newer markets, and shifted focus back to Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
IFC · Jul 2022
IFC said it arranged a €90 million financing package for Wave's Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire subsidiaries, including its own loan and parallel loans from multiple lenders.
TechCrunch · Sep 2021
Announced Wave's $200 million Series A and $1.7 billion valuation, led by Sequoia Heritage, Founders Fund, Stripe, and Ribbit Capital.