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Centbee closes R17m funding round with Ayre Ventures
“We have the right vision, products and team to drive exponential growth for our investors,” said Centbee co-chief executive Lorien Gamaroff after the fintech start-up closed its R17-million pre-series A round with entrepreneur Calvin Ayre.
Ayre, who is the founder of Ayre Ventures, first invested in Centbee in 2019.
With its head office in London and offices in South Africa, Centbee was founded by Gamaroff, a leading expert in blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies, and Angus Brown, a former CEO of eBucks.com.
Speaking on the latest raise, Ayre said, “My faith in Centbee has been rewarded through Angus and Lorien’s ongoing commitment to making Bitcoin – the original protocol in the form of BSV – easily usable and accessible to everyone. Unlike other blockchains, BSV is focused on utility, not speculation, and Centbee is working hard to further Bitcoin’s adoption as a true peer-to-peer electronic cash system.”
Gamaroff added, “Consumers around the world are looking for better, easier ways to pay, and our blockchain-based payment wallet does just that. Our latest feature, ChatPay, makes it easy to send money via an in-wallet chat application.”
Centbee has a suite of digital cash products and services that make payments easy, even cross-border, according to Brown, co-chief executive.
“Our cross-border remittance service, Minit Money, enables people to move money simply and cheaply across borders to support family and friends and has already processed over 35 000 remittances into Africa. The investment by Ayre Group will be used for scaling and growth as well as strengthening technical and operating capacity.”
Brown has 20 years’ experience in payments and banking, including a stint at eBucks.com, a world-first bank-backed digital currency created in 2000. He was appointed chairperson of the BSV blockchain’s technical standards committee earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Gamaroff has consulted and advised regulators and corporates internationally. He is also a well-loved educator and presenter.
