Cellulant, the Pan-African payments company, recently had its third round of layoffs in December 2023 resulting from the firm’s “strategic operational adjustments.” These adjustments would see the company align its business into three core business units – banking, collections, and payouts in the same month.
Confirming the layoffs, Cellulant says the implementation of said initiatives “resulted in the departure of staff, including some at senior level.” However, the company didn’t divulge the exact number of staff affected by the layoffs with TechCabal reporting that at least four senior executives left the company in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The company says that the strategic shift undertaken was designed to “enhance operational efficiency and support growth.” The company reports that its merchant payment processing witnessed a 60% growth in transaction volume in 2023.
As part of its business restructuring, Cellulant laid off 27 employees in the first round of 2023 layoffs. In August 2023, the company cut 20% of its workforce as it adopted a “leaner product-led structure”. The company argued that this would support the company’s scale and help increase the customer base.
Notably, the quiet December layoffs happened a month before the sudden exit of CEO Akshay Grover. Marking a transition in leadership at the company, Peter O’Toole takes over as the Acting CEO. Furthermore, the company adds that new senior executives will be joining the leadership team in the future.
Aside from the layoffs, the company also took additional steps as part of the next phase of growth. This included fortifying teams across various business areas by consolidating key functions, establishing new roles and additional hires “in strategic functions.”
