Wave Mobile Money Valuation, Funding & Investors

Wave Mobile Money is valued at $1.7B as of September 2021.

Last Wave Mobile Money valuation

$1.7B

Series A · Sep 2021

Last Wave Mobile Money funding round

$10M

Series A · Jan 2022

Cumulative funding Wave Mobile Money raised

$210M

across 2 funding rounds

Key investors in Wave Mobile Money

  • Founders Fund
  • Partech
  • International Finance Corporation
  • Ribbit Capital
  • Alameda Research
  • LoftyInc Capital

Wave Mobile Money Overview

About Wave Mobile Money

Wave Mobile Money is a mobile financial services provider enabling savings, transfers, and loans through its app across multiple African countries. Dakar, Senegal-headquartered, it operates a fee-free network accepted at millions of agents, targeting unbanked populations with instant transactions via USSD and smartphone interfaces.


Founded

2008

HQ

SenegalDakar

Website

wave.com

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Usage-based

Valuation

$1.7B (Sep 2021)

Wave Mobile Money Valuation

Wave Mobile Money is currently valued at $1.7B, based on its Series A in September 2021.

The $200M round was led by Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Heritage and Stripe, with participation from Partech, International Finance Corporation, Sam Altman and Base Capital.

Wave Mobile Money valuation by funding round

Wave Mobile Money valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Sep 2021Series A$1.7B

Wave Mobile Money Funding History

Wave Mobile Money has raised a total of $210M across 2 funding rounds.

Wave Mobile Money's first fundraising round was a $200M Series A in September 2021. The most recent completed round was a $10M Series A in January 2022.

Wave Mobile Money funding rounds

Wave Mobile Money funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Jan 2022Series AAlameda Research (lead); LoftyInc Capital; Wuri Ventures$10M--
Sep 2021Series AFounders Fund (lead); Ribbit Capital (lead); Sequoia Heritage (lead); Stripe (lead); Partech; International Finance Corporation; Sam Altman; Base Capital$200M$1.7BWave Mobile Money, a U.S. and Senegal-based mobile money provider founded in 2018 by Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk, raised $200 million in its Series A funding round in September 2021, led by Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Heritage, and Stripe, with participation from Base Capital, International Finance Corporation, Partech, and Sam Altman. The round valued the company at a post-money valuation of $1.7 billion, marking it as the first unicorn in Francophone Africa and the largest Series A ever for the region. Wave operates an app-based platform allowing users to deposit, withdraw, pay bills, and send money at a 1% fee through a network of local agent businesses, without requiring bank accounts; deposits and withdrawals are free. The company had previously raised about $13.8 million in seed funding, including from Founders Fund and Stripe. By 2021, Wave claimed to be the largest mobile money operator in Senegal, with over half of the country's adults as active users, estimating 4-5 million users total, and was expanding in Côte d'Ivoire while planning entry into Uganda and Mali. It differentiates from telecom-led competitors like Airtel by offering lower fees (70% less than incumbents) and full-stack infrastructure including agent networks, apps, QR cards, and business tools, serving both smartphone and non-smartphone users. Wave emerged from the founders' earlier remittance startup Sendwave, acquired by WorldRemit, shifting focus to mobile money amid Africa's $495 billion mobile money transaction value landscape dominated by telcos but seeing rising fintech competition like OPay.

Who has invested in Wave Mobile Money?

11 investors have backed Wave Mobile Money across its funding rounds, including Founders Fund, Partech, International Finance Corporation, Ribbit Capital, Alameda Research and LoftyInc Capital.

Lead investors include Alameda Research, Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Heritage and Stripe.


Wave Mobile Money Investors

Investors in Wave Mobile Money by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
StripeUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1LeadSep 2021
Alameda ResearchHong KongHong Kong1LeadJan 2022
LoftyInc CapitalNigeriaLagos1ParticipantJan 2022
PartechFranceParis1ParticipantSep 2021
Ribbit CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1LeadSep 2021
Founders FundUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1LeadSep 2021
International Finance CorporationUnited StatesWashington, DC1ParticipantSep 2021
Sam AltmanUnited StatesUnited States1ParticipantSep 2021
Base CapitalSouth AfricaCape Town1ParticipantSep 2021

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Wave Mobile Money Competitors

Wave Mobile Money competitors include listed companies like Green Dot and Klarna, and private ones like Tyme Group, CloudWalk, Greenlight and Stori.

Public and private companies comparable to Wave Mobile Money
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Tyme GroupSouth AfricaJohannesburgPrivate$168M-$1.5B8.9x
CloudWalkBrazilSão PauloPrivate--$2.1B-
GreenlightUnited StatesAtlanta, GAPrivate$100M-$2.3B23.0x
StoriMexicoMexico CityPrivate$300M-$1.2B4.0x
Green DotUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$2.1B($12M)$751M0.3x
KlarnaSwedenSwedenPublicly listed$3.5B$551M$5.3B1.3x

Wave Mobile Money Public Comps

Wave Mobile Money is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Pagaya, Kbank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Wealthfront, EZCORP, Atlanticus, Zip, Shawbrook Group, PicPay and CreditAccess Grameen.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Pagaya$1.3B$33M1.1x1.0x42.6x3.2x
Kbank$461M-3.5x4.2x--
Stanbic IBTC Holdings$669M-2.7x2.0x--
Wealthfront$365M($93M)4.3x4.2x(17.0x)9.9x
EZCORP$1.3B$188M1.9x1.5x13.0x8.9x
Atlanticus$403M-18.4x2.7x--
Zip$951M$296M3.8x3.6x12.2x18.3x
Shawbrook Group$924M-2.3x2.2x--

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Common questions about Wave Mobile Money

When was Wave Mobile Money founded?Wave Mobile Money was founded in 2008.
Where is Wave Mobile Money headquartered?Wave Mobile Money is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal.
Is Wave Mobile Money publicly listed?No, Wave Mobile Money is a private, VC-backed company.
What is Wave Mobile Money's valuation?Wave Mobile Money was last valued at $1.7B in its Series A in September 2021.
How much funding has Wave Mobile Money raised?Wave Mobile Money has raised $210M across 2 funding rounds.
What was Wave Mobile Money's last funding round?Wave Mobile Money's last funding round was a $10M Series A in January 2022, led by Alameda Research.
Who are Wave Mobile Money's investors?Wave Mobile Money's investors include Stripe, Alameda Research, LoftyInc Capital, Partech, Ribbit Capital, Founders Fund, International Finance Corporation, Sam Altman, Base Capital, Sequoia Heritage and 1 other.
Which companies are comparable to Wave Mobile Money?Companies comparable to Wave Mobile Money include Tyme Group, CloudWalk, Greenlight, Stori, Green Dot and Klarna.

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