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Cloud9 Money
Techstars '25City of Newark, US · Founded 2025 · 10 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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Cloud9 is a digital banking platform designed for young Africans that provides simplified access to banking, payments, credit, and wealth management tools built around modern lifestyle needs. The platform serves entrepreneurs, small businesses, freelancers, and salaried professionals across Africa.
Also known as Cloud Nine Experiences Ltd · Cloud Nine Global · Cloud9
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Cloud9 Money is a digital banking (neobank) application aimed at Africa's youth — freelancers, creators, side-hustlers, students, travellers, small businesses and salaried professionals. The app provides virtual bank accounts denominated in KES, USD, EUR, GBP, CNY, UGX, TZS and RWF held in the user's name, stablecoin wallets for receiving and converting USDT to bank or mobile money, local and cross-border transfers to more than 100 destinations via mobile money, stablecoins, bank transfers and SWIFT/RTGS, bill payments, and free transfers between Cloud9 accounts using a $Cloud9tag handle.
Additional features include virtual and physical VISA cards issued instantly for online and in-person spending, cashback of up to 2% on payments, and "Cloud9 Vaults" savings with automatic transaction round-ups. A Cloud9 Wealth module offers fractional investing in stocks, crypto, money market funds and curated portfolios. Three further modules — Cloud9 Credit (digital loans, overdrafts, secured personal loans and checkout BNPL), Cloud9 Crypto (a wallet to buy, hold, send and earn from digital assets) and Cloud9 Insure (small-ticket life, health, motor and travel cover) — are listed as coming soon. Support is offered through in-app chat on a 24/7 basis.
The company positions itself against traditional African banks that it characterises as slow, paperwork-heavy and poorly matched to a digital-first generation, and frames its offering around real-time payments, transparent credit, wealth-building tools and borderless features for cross-border freelancing and global commerce.
Founding story
Cloud9 Money was founded by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, previously co-founders of MarketForce and Chpter. After MarketForce's B2B commerce unit RejaReja shut down in 2024 and the pair stepped away from Chpter's daily operations in September 2025, they launched Cloud9 weeks later, describing it as a company built by founders and ex-bankers to solve problems they had experienced themselves.
Business model
Consumer fintech app monetised through subscription tiers and transactional financial services, with planned expansion into credit, crypto and insurance products.
The app is offered on three plans: a free "Niner" tier capped at KES 99,999 of monthly transactions with local and mobile money payments, bill payments and round-up savings; a "Builder" tier at KES 99 per month adding unlimited transaction volumes, global payments, multi-currency accounts, cashback and VISA cards; and a "Baller" tier at KES 999 per month adding preferential FX rates, 2x cashback, perks and concierge support. Planned credit, crypto and insurance modules imply additional product-level revenue lines.
Traction
The website states more than 25,000 people are using Cloud9 and cites a 4.8/5 rating; the Google Play listing shows 1,000+ downloads. Chpter, acquired by Cloud9, is reported to have around 4,500 active businesses continuing on the combined platform.
Latest developments
Cloud9's all-stock acquisition of Chpter, first reported on 9 August 2026, brought Chpter's teams and roughly 4,500 active business users onto the combined platform. The Google Play listing was updated on 18 August 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as a new entrant in Africa's neobanking segment alongside digital-first players such as Kuda, Chipper and Flutterwave, in a market where press coverage cites over $1 trillion flowing annually through digital payments on the continent. Following its acquisition of Chpter, the combined platform also spans conversational commerce software for merchants.
Combines multi-currency virtual accounts and stablecoin (USDT) rails with card issuance, cashback, round-up savings and fractional investing in a single app, and is built by founders and ex-bankers who position the product against hidden fees, slow onboarding and exploitative credit practices at incumbent banks.
Technology
Mobile-first Android application (listed as Version 1.0) supporting account opening in under five minutes, instant virtual and physical VISA card issuance usable at 150M+ merchants, stablecoin wallets with instant USDT conversion to bank or mobile money, and payment rails covering mobile money, bank transfers and SWIFT/RTGS.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer app distribution via Google Play, a waitlist opened for early adopters at launch, tiered freemium subscription pricing, and founder-led press announcements in African technology media. The Chpter acquisition adds an existing merchant base to the platform.
Young Africans — described as millennials, Zillenials and Gen Z — including freelancers, creators, side-hustlers, students, travellers, global earners, entrepreneurs, small businesses and salaried professionals; pricing and transaction limits are quoted in Kenyan shillings, indicating Kenya as the initial base.
Geography
Operations centred on Kenya, with the developer entity listed at Nairobi Garage, The Mirage, Westlands, Nairobi; supported account currencies span East Africa (KES, UGX, TZS, RWF) plus USD, EUR, GBP and CNY, and transfers reach 100+ destinations.
History
The neobank was publicly announced in early October 2025 with a waitlist for early adopters and no disclosed funding or launch date at the time. A consumer app subsequently shipped on Google Play under developer Cloud Nine Global / CLOUD NINE EXPERIENCES LTD. In August 2026, Cloud9 acquired Chpter — the AI-powered conversational commerce startup co-founded by Mbaabu — in an all-stock transaction, gaining Chpter's product, engineering and commercial teams.
Risks & controversies
The Chpter acquisition is a related-party transaction: Tesh Mbaabu founded both companies, so buyer and seller shared key decision-makers, removing the arm's-length friction that normally establishes fair value. Because the deal was struck in the private market, fairness rested on agreement between venture investors on both cap tables rather than independent public shareholders or disclosure obligations. The founders' prior venture, MarketForce, raised over $15 million before shutting down its core operations amid unsustainable unit economics, and African startup funding has contracted to roughly $1.4 billion in 2024 from peaks above $3 billion in 2022. The company states it is not itself a bank, and credit, crypto and insurance products remain unreleased.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Cloud9 Money went on to found or lead other companies.
Related companies · 4
Companies working in the same space as Cloud9 Money.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsCloud9 acquired Chpter, an AI-powered conversational commerce startup, in an all-stock transaction with no cash changing hands. Cloud9 gained Chpter's product, engineering and commercial teams, and Chpter's claimed 4,500 active businesses continue on the combined platform. The deal was a related-party transaction, as Tesh Mbaabu founded both companies.
Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti announced the launch of Cloud9 Money, a neobank offering real-time payments, credit, savings and wealth management for African millennials and Gen Z. No funding or launch date was disclosed; a waitlist was opened for early adopters.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- Cloud9 Moneycloud9.money · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Cloud9 Money do?
- Cloud9 Money is an African neobank app offering multi-currency accounts, payments, savings, cards and investing for young earners.
- Who are Cloud9 Money's investors?
- Cloud9 Money's investors include Techstars.
- Where is Cloud9 Money headquartered?
- Cloud9 Money is headquartered in City of Newark, US.