LazerPay: 19-Year-Old Nigerian CEO Lays Off Staff After Investor Pulls Out of Crypto Payments Platform

The CEO of Nigerian cryptocurrency payment platform Lazerpay, Emmanuel Njoku, has announced the company’s plans to lay off some of its employees.

Njoku brought Lazerpay to life in 2021 when he was 19, as a way to build payment solutions that leverage blockchain technology.

In a statement posted via Twitter, the CEO recounted how difficult the past few months have been for the startup, noting how while trying to raise funds this year, its lead investor abruptly pulled out due to market conditions. unfavorable, leaving them unable to complete the funding cycle.

“The past few months have not been the easiest, so we had to make a tough decision to downsize our team. I am grateful to the Lazerpay team for their dedication and sacrifices throughout this time. For our outgoing colleagues, it was an honor to build with you,” he captioned the Twitter post.

The statement read in part, “Lazerpay commenced operations in 2021 and we are committed to driving crypto adoption globally. So far, we’ve enabled over 3,000 businesses to accept stablecoin payments worldwide. We’ve improved our core payment gateway and added exit functionality to help merchants convert their crypto to fiat directly to their bank accounts in over 100 countries. We have also introduced our on-ramp product to help merchants fund their Lazerpay Naira accounts.

“Earlier this year, we began raising our funding round and garnering investor interest. Unfortunately, our proposed lead investor pulled out abruptly due to market conditions and disagreement over terms. It impacted our ability to finish this round.

The past few months have not been the easiest, so we had to make a tough decision to downsize our team.

I am grateful to the Lazerpay team for their dedication and sacrifices throughout this time. For our outgoing colleagues, it was an honor to build with you. pic.twitter.com/DQP6epyy0z

— njoku.eth 🙂 (@njokuScript) November 29, 2022

“In an effort to expand our track, our management team stopped taking pay, and our employees have graciously stayed on board with a pay cut for the past few months. Despite these sacrifices, in addition to changing our strategy fundraising and making necessary adjustments in company operations, we still face a difficult decision to downsize and part ways with some incredibly talented members of our team.

He reaffirmed the company’s mission to continue to drive crypto adoption and enable businesses to go global.

Njoku co-founded Lazerpay with Abdulfatai Suleiman and Prosper Ubi after coming up with the idea of ​​a payment gateway for cryptocurrencies.

The company received over $1 million in funding to bring this vision of Nestcoin to life, a company that builds, operates, and invests in crypto and Web3 products.