Zap Africa has reduced its workforce by 44 per cent as it shifts to a leaner structure built around automation, trimming roles across design, operations, marketing and customer support.
The Lagos-based crypto startup, founded in 2023, began cutting positions in December 2025, eliminating at least five roles before a second round in February 2026 removed eight more, according to former employees. The company moved from 18 staff members to 10. Leadership says no additional layoffs are planned.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Moore Dagogo Hart described the move as a targeted restructuring rather than a broad layoff. He said the company intentionally reduced headcount as part of an AI-driven efficiency shift designed to align operating costs with revenue-generating priorities. According to him, only non-core roles were affected, while product development, engineering, finance, legal, operations and growth functions remain intact.
The restructuring reflects pressure facing young crypto firms navigating a prolonged market downturn. As digital asset prices retreated from their 2024 highs and global crypto markets shed trillions in value, trading volumes slowed across platforms. Startups that expanded during bullish cycles are now adjusting spending to match lower activity levels.
Zap Africa launched as a retail crypto trading platform and raised $300,000 in pre-seed funding in 2024 to expand product development. In 2025, Dagogo Hart said the platform had processed over $17 million in transactions and generated up to $100,000 in monthly revenue. Weekly transaction volumes at the time averaged around $500,000, suggesting roughly $2 million in monthly trading activity.
Former employees say retail trading has slowed in recent months, leading to a reduction in in-app activity. As smaller trades declined, over-the-counter transactions – large trades executed outside the public order book – became a more significant source of revenue. The company declined to disclose updated revenue figures or the current balance between OTC and retail transactions.
At the center of the restructuring is automation. Zap Africa integrated an AI-powered customer support tool known as Martha AI into its workflow. Developed by Cognito Systems, another venture linked to Dagogo Hart, the tool handles first-line customer inquiries before escalating issues to human agents when necessary. Former employees said the rollout reduced the need for certain support roles.
Dagogo Hart confirmed that affected employees received severance packages based on tenure and contractual terms. He added that development of the company’s wallet and exchange products continues without interruption and that the startup has sufficient capital and revenue to execute its roadmap.
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The company’s tightening follows a period of public visibility. In 2025, Zap Africa was involved in a trademark dispute with Paystack over the use of the name “Zap” for a consumer product. The dispute drew attention across Nigeria’s tech community and increased awareness of the crypto startup. Soon after, Zap hosted the Builders Summit, a startup-focused event organized by Founders Connect, and expanded its media presence.
Behind that visibility, operational challenges were emerging. Two former employees cited internal incidents, including a double-counted customer deposit in May 2024 that was later refunded and a February 2025 fraudulent crypto transfer that reportedly resulted in a $5,000 loss. The company did not comment on those cases. While such issues are not unusual in digital asset platforms, they illustrate the operational strain of managing financial products in volatile markets.
Crypto companies often move from growth to capital preservation during downturns. In 2022, another Nigerian exchange, Quidax, reduced its workforce by 20 per cent to extend its runway during a previous market slump. Zap Africa’s reduction appears to follow a similar pattern, prioritizing cost control and automation as trading activity softens.
For a two-year-old startup, the decision carries weight. Cutting nearly half of its team may preserve capital, but it also narrows the margin for execution as the company continues to build new products. Leadership argues that a smaller structure allows clearer focus on core offerings and reduces overhead in a market where revenue is closely tied to trading volumes.
Zap Africa says it remains operationally stable and committed to building non-custodial financial infrastructure. Whether the leaner model proves durable will depend on market recovery, sustained user activity and the company’s ability to balance automation with trust in a sector where credibility is critical.
