Branch International, a Nigerian fintech firm that focuses on digital banking, online lending, saving, and wealth management, has successfully completed another round of layoffs in its Nigerian and Kenyan markets. According to a report, the company had laid off 186 employees in mid-2023. However, this recent layoff is what the company described as “the difficult decision to reduce headcount across some of our markets.”
It's important to know that this layoff comes despite Branch's profitable year. For the 2025 financial year, the company reported approximately $30 million in global profit and made it clear that it's profitable in its Nigerian and Kenyan markets. The company clarified to TechCabal that the layoff it implemented in both markets was not 'a decision driven by financial distress'.
The layoff was announced during a global all-hands (company-wide) general meeting the company had on April 17. After the meeting, the company sent a termination notice via email to affected employees, and the termination took effect immediately. As the termination email partly read, “Your last day of employment will be today, April 17, 2026.” The company blocked affected employees from accessing work emails and internal systems immediately after the termination email.
However, the company also highlighted 'extremely generous severance packages' offered to affected employees in the email. The company stated that health insurance benefits for affected employees will continue until the end of 2026. They will also be compensated with at least four months of salary, notice pay, and unused leave days.
Branch did not disclose the number of employees that were affected by the layoff. But according to a news outlet, 85 employees were affected. Notably, this is an unconfirmed figure, and Branch has yet to disclose the total number of staff that are affected. According to a Kenyan employee, it becomes difficult to know the true extent of the layoffs because many employees had been working remotely in recent weeks.
If these employees had been working in a physical office environment, the reductions would have been more noticeable. The layoff is kind of a trend in Africa’s fintech sector, where companies are focusing more on leaner teams that will achieve operational efficiency to drive sustainable profits rather than aggressive expansion.
Even automation and AI-driven workflows are also part of what is driving the trends even as financing conditions begin to improve. Branch, founded in 2015, stated that its African businesses had “significant cash on hand” and carried no debt, so the layoffs were not caused by financial troubles. The company serves over 13 million customers, has issued over 54 million loans, and has processed more than $1.8 billion in loans across its major markets: Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and India.
