West African Fintech company Wave laid off about 15% of its personnel last month to double down or focus on its operations in Ivory Coast and Senegal. This move has affected about 300 employees, most of whom are believed to be in Wave's new markets: Burkina Faso, Mali and Uganda. Founded in 2018, Wave seeks to offer simple structures that help users transact easily through digital financial services.
Having a strong influence on Ivory Coast and Senegal, Wave has sought to reinforce its operations in these countries to achieve maximum productivity. In what appears to be a strategic drive to maintain market dominance, Wave strives to foster access to financial services by penetrating deep into Senegal and Ivory Coast. However, Wave's decision will undoubtedly carry with it some implications that could hamper its vision of making all of Africa and not just a region a cashless society.
Wave currently has more than 5 Million active users with about 2000 employees, ensuring that these users are satisfied with the services rendered. However, with this new decision that reduces this number by 15%, the company will hope not to struggle in adjusting to handling its large and growing user network. The company's leadership has announced offering benefits and packages to all affected employees.
Senegal in focus:
Population: 16.74 million in 2020 as compared to 16.3 million in 2019
GDP: $24.91 billion compared to $23.31 billion in 2019
GDP per capita: $1,48 in 2020 compared to $2,276 in 2019
