DriveWealth, a pioneer in fractional investing and embedded finance, has announced a partnership with Chipper Cash, the billion-dollar African cross-border payments startup, to allow Ugandans to gain affordable access to investing in U.S. equities for the first time.
Approximately 66% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population did not have access to a bank account in 2020, according to the World Bank. While Africa’s large unbanked population has increasingly turned to technology to help create a more inclusive financial system, investing in the U.S. stock markets required high minimums and was only accessible for high networth individuals, leaving much of the Ugandan population without access.
Through its partnership with DriveWealth, Chipper Cash is empowering everyday investors in Uganda with safe and affordable access to the U.S. stock market for the first time. Users will now be able to invest on a dollar equivalent basis (i.e. fractional shares) in over 6,000 U.S. securities and ETFs, allowing consumers to invest with no minimum requirements.
“Equipping underserved investors with the tools they need to break down the barriers to investing is a critical step towards democratizing investing worldwide,” said Bob Cortright, founder and CEO of DriveWealth. “What Chipper Cash has been able to accomplish in its few short years is helping Africans to access a range of financial services inexpensively from their phones. We’re thrilled to partner with Chipper Cash to help investors build long-term wealth by investing in U.S. stocks.”
“We are excited to add investing in U.S. equities to our platform to complement our initial offerings of peer-to-peer transactions and cross-border payments,” said Ham Serunjogi, CEO of Chipper Cash. “Thanks to our partnership with DriveWealth, the U.S. market is now easily accessible to all members of the Ugandan population. This will enable citizens to improve their financial well-being and become owners of their financial futures.”
Following the rollout of this offering in Uganda, Chipper Cash plans to provide access to fractional trading in U.S. equities through its partnership with DriveWealth in Nigeria and South Africa.
