The San Francisco-headquartered startup, one of Africa’s largest app-based lenders, confirmed it had reduced staff across parts of its business, describing the move as a “difficult decision” tied to broader operational adjustments rather than financial distress.
But for several employees, the layoffs came without warning.
According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, affected workers were informed during a global all-hands meeting on April 17, before receiving termination notices that took effect immediately. Some employees reportedly lost access to company systems and work emails shortly after the meeting ended.
“We were aware of the company-wide meeting, but nobody expected people would be laid off,” one former employee stated, according to TechCabal.
The layoffs underscore a growing shift across Africa’s once fast-expanding fintech sector, where companies are increasingly prioritising profitability, operational efficiency and cost control after years of aggressive hiring and expansion fuelled by investor capital.
In recent years, African startups raced to scale rapidly across markets as venture funding surged. But rising investor pressure for sustainable returns has forced many firms to rethink growth strategies, trim costs and focus on core operations.
Branch denies financial trouble
Branch, however, insists its decision was not driven by financial weakness.
“This was not a decision driven by financial distress. Both our Nigeria and Kenya markets were profitable last year, and Branch International declared a global profit of approximately $30 million for the 2025 financial year,” the company said.
The company also stated that its African operations held “significant cash on hand” and carried no debt.
Still, the decision has raised questions internally, particularly because some employees said management had recently discussed possible fundraising plans. Several staff members said they did not anticipate layoffs would follow.
The fintech firm denied any connection between the cuts and fundraising activity.
“We are not actively fundraising equity as we are profitable in every market,” the company said.
The company declined to disclose how many employees were affected or which departments experienced cuts.
One Kenya-based employee said the scale of the layoffs remained difficult to determine because many workers had already been operating remotely, making the reductions less visible than traditional office-based layoffs.
Substantial severance payouts
Unlike previous waves of tech layoffs that quickly spread across LinkedIn and social media, many affected Branch employees have remained publicly silent, reflecting what some observers describe as growing anxiety within Africa’s tightening tech labour market.
Despite the layoffs, Branch said departing workers would receive substantial severance support.
Findings confirmed that affected employees will receive at least four months of compensation, including salary, notice pay and unused leave days. Health insurance coverage will also remain active through the end of 2026.
“Employees impacted by this decision were provided with extremely generous severance packages,” the company said.
Founded in 2015, Branch became one of Africa’s most prominent digital lending platforms by offering instant smartphone-based loans to users across Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and India.
The company says it has served more than 13 million customers and issued over 54 million loans valued at more than $1.8 billion.
Branch has raised more than $274 million from investors, including payments giant Visa, according to Crunchbase data. In 2022, the company deepened its push into African banking after acquiring a majority stake in Kenya’s Century Microfinance Bank.
