Ham Serunjogi

Originally from Uganda, Ham Serunjogi graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Grinnell College in 2016. While attending Grinnell, he was a member of the swimming and diving team, active with AppDev, and he gained valuable business experience as the Student Government Association Treasurer. In that role, he oversaw a $500,000 annual budget and managed a payroll for 100 student employees.

After graduation, Serunjogi moved to Dublin, Ireland, where he led Facebook’s partnerships with some of its larger clients in Europe. He left that job in 2018 and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work full time as the CEO of Chipper Cash, a venture-capital–backed financial technology company that he co-founded with fellow Grinnell graduate Maijid Moujaled ’14. Both had the desire to make a positive impact on their home continent of Africa by leveraging technology and entrepreneurship. They were also both part of the team that launched Pioneer Weekend, an annual innovation and pitch competition which they have continued to support with a $50,000 grant via the Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled Fund for Entrepreneurship.

Launched in 2018, Chipper Cash builds software to enable free and instant cross-border peer-to-peer money transfers and personal investment, as well as solutions for businesses and merchants to process online and in-store payments. It offers mobile-based, no fee, P2P payment services, and is present in nine countries: Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The company has received funding from Ribbit Capital, Jeff Bezos, and Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to name a few.

In total Chipper raised over $300 million and is widely considered one of the most valuable startups in Africa valued at over $2 Billion. At last count, Chipper employed about 15 Grinnell graduates as full-time employees or interns, as part of its 400+ global employee base.