Chapa is streamlining digital payments for thousands of Ethiopian businesses, helping them scale with ease. With support from the NTF V Tech project in Ethiopia, the fintech is expanding its reach across East Africa.
When Chapa Financial Technologies was launched in 2020, Ethiopia’s digital economy was still in its early stages. Payment systems were fragmented, infrastructure was limited, and many businesses – especially those outside major cities – struggled to access the digital tools they needed. Chapa set out to change that.
‘Our goal was to connect Ethiopian businesses to the global economy,’ says Helina Zeleke, Director of Customer Support at Chapa. ‘We wanted to offer trusted, seamless payment tools that businesses of any size could use.’
Today, Chapa now supports more than 10,000 merchants, offering them access to 18 banks, 14 payment methods, and support for 25 currencies. The company has processed more than 100 million transactions to date, placing it among Ethiopia’s top fintechs.
Before Chapa, local businesses had to integrate separately with each bank, a slow, expensive and highly technical process. Chapa streamlined this by offering one integration point with access to multiple banks.
‘Merchants no longer have to manage different systems,’ says Zeleke. ‘With Chapa, they can track payments in real time, identify customer locations, and analyse transaction behaviour. It helps them scale, plan, and adapt.’
‘The integration process is simple and fast. We have a straightforward compliance checklist, and businesses get access to a dashboard where they can track everything. They can see where customers are paying from, what devices they’re using, and even whether any errors occurred,’ says Zeleke.
This kind of data helps businesses understand customer behaviour and grow strategically. It also supports small businesses and startups that might not have technical staff. Developers can integrate via API using just three lines of code, while less tech-savvy merchants can generate QR codes, donation links, or event payment tools in a few clicks.
A major accelerator for Chapa’s growth has been its participation in the NTF V Ethiopia Tech Project, which has provided mentorship, technical guidance, and access to new markets.
With NTF V backing, Chapa took part in GITEX Africa 2025, one of the continent’s biggest tech events, held in Marrakesh, Morocco. Chapa’s pitch, focused on solving the challenge of fragmented payments in Africa, earned them third place in the high-profile competition.
‘Our pitch was about solving the problem of fragmented payment systems in Africa,’ says Zeleke. ‘In many shops, there are multiple QR codes from different banks, and customers do not know which one to use. Chapa simplifies that. We also talked about financial access, market potential, and how our solution works for both technical and non-technical users.’
The pitch included data showing that the total addressable market for payment gateways in sectors like agriculture is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Chapa also shared its expansion strategy, which focuses on localization, cross-border remittances, mobile wallets and lending services.
Expansion and future plans
Building on its local success, Chapa is preparing to expand into Uganda, with plans to enter other East African markets soon. According to Zeleke, the company’s outlook is global but grounded in local needs.
‘Our strategy is to grow with localisation in mind. We adapt our services to local realities and make sure they are easy to use,’ she says. ‘Our future roadmap includes building remittance channels, mobile wallet tools, and even a lending platform’ for small businesses.
At home, the regulatory environment is also becoming more supportive. ‘The government is backing digital transactions more strongly than ever,’ Zeleke says. ‘There’s progress in customer onboarding systems, national ID integration, and clear fintech guidelines.’
Chapa currently employs around 50 people, with plans to grow the team as transaction volumes increase. Zeleke leads the customer support team, which she describes as the ‘centre of the company.’ Her team handles everything from refunds to compliance queries and often passes user suggestions to product developers.
‘Every new feature or improvement starts with the customer,’ she says. ‘If someone has an issue or a great idea, we make sure the right team hears about it.’
‘Our aim has always been to reduce barriers for businesses,’ says Zeleke. “With the right tools and support, we believe African tech startups can build world-class solutions.”
About the project
The Netherlands Trust Fund V (NTF) (July 2021 – June 2025) is based on a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and the International Trade Centre. The programme supports MSMEs in the digital technologies and agribusiness sectors. Its ambition is two-fold: to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable transformation of food systems, partially through digital solutions, and drive the internationalization of tech start-ups and export of IT&BPO companies in selected Sub-Saharan African countries.