PayStack lays off 33 employees in Europe and the UAE as it reduces operations outside of Africa

Paystack, a Pan African Payments company, is letting go of 33 of its employees in Europe and the UAE as it reduces its operations outside of Africa.

This announcement was made by Shola Akinlade, the co-founder and CEO on his “X” page. According to him, the company was changing its operating model to prioritize locating team members within the markets it serves, to localize costs and get closer to its customers.

After being acquired by the U.S.-based fintech company Stripe, Paystack broadened its geographic footprint by opening new offices in cities like Accra, Cape Town, Dubai, and Nairobi. Alongside this physical expansion, Paystack also enhanced its workforce by hiring staff in Europe for remote roles and set up a dedicated engineering hub in Dubai.

Paystack currently operates in four African countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. It is currently undergoing private beta testing in Ivory Coast, Egypt, and Rwanda as part of its expansion.

Akinlade said that company will spare “no expense to minimise disruption to the lives of team members”. In line with this, he said that the company will be giving each affected staff a severance package consisting of 4 months’ salary, accelerating equity vesting, extending health insurance by 3 months, and more.

In trying to ensure that every single affected employee finds new roles as soon as possible, he encouraged employers interested in hiring them to fill a form