FINTECH | Ghanaian Fintech, Dash, Shuts Down Operations After Raising Over $86 Million Following Reports of Inflated User Numbers

Ghanaian fintech, Dash, has reportedly shut down its operations after months of speculation.

The news was revealed at a virtual company wide meeting indicating that Dash was laying off its remaining staff (70) and winding down.

“Things have been gloomy. There was anticipation of the news after the meeting invite was sent on Monday [october 3 2023]. We were expecting an announcement of shutting down the company so it was no surprise,” said one employee who volunteered that most of the staff at Dash, having read the handwriting on the wall, had been seeking out new jobs over the past months.

Dash was established in 2019 by Prince Boakye Boampong with a mission to facilitate interoperability between mobile money wallets and bank accounts throughout Africa. The goal was to simplify and streamline the process of sending money across the continent.

Over the course of five years, the startup managed to secure $86.1 million in funding and garnered the attention of prominent investors. Notably, in 2022, Dash completed the second-largest seed round ever for an African startup, raising $32.8 million. This round was led by Insight Partners, and it featured participation from other notable investors, including:

• Insight Partners
• Global Founders Capital
• 4DX Ventures
• ASK Capital

However, in February 2023, the CEO, Boakye Boampong, would be suspended from his position with reports suggesting that the company had been inflating numbers. Dash reportedlty said it had facilitated transactions amounting to $1 billion and had successfully on-boarded one million users from Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, a 5-fold increase in its user base within a mere five-month period.

Internal audits conducted by the company revealed that Boampong had misrepresented and inflated the user numbers, and he was eventually dismissed from his role, with Kenneth Kinyua appointed as his successor.

According to sources, the company has made progress in its Kenyan operations and retains hope it can make progress there.

“They want to retain a few employees to finish on the Kenyan product and sell it,” said an employee.

“A dozen or so employees will be retained, mainly the CEO, Legal Officer, Compliance Officer, HR, CFO and four Country Managers to oversee the transition and the winding down process,” they shared, adding that severance packages would depend on local labor laws in each of the bases.