2025: New Year Same Us

Selam Chapists,

As we reflect on our journey and celebrate the milestones of 2024, we’re excited to share our vision for the year ahead. At Chapa, developers remain at the heart of everything we do, and in 2025, we’re doubling down on our commitment to empower you with the tools, resources, and support needed to build exceptional solutions.

We Had a Great 2024: Key Highlights

2024 was a groundbreaking year for Chapa. Beyond significant milestones and launches, it was a year of technical innovations that strengthened our mission. Here are some notable highlights:

Transaction Growth:

We processed billions of birrs, scaling our systems to handle peak loads equivalent to the population of Bahir Dar, at the speed of Merkato, and maintained a 99.99% uptime. Our API endpoints handled more than 22 million calls daily.

Performance Optimization:

With continuous infrastructure improvements, we reduced average API response times by 30%, ensuring faster and more reliable payment processing for businesses and users alike.

Direct Charges Success:

The introduction of direct charges resulted in a 60% increase in successful payment completions on partner platforms, significantly enhancing user experience.

Chapa Radar:

Our fraud detection system, Chapa Radar, identified and protected against thousands of fraudulent transactions, saving businesses from potential losses and reinforcing trust in our platform.

Bright Ethiopia 2024 Hackathon:

We hosted Bright Ethiopia 2024, a platform for Ethiopia’s brightest minds to collaborate, innovate, and solve fintech challenges. You can read more about the event here.

And this Year?

Reigniting the Developer Series

This year, we’re thrilled to bring back our developer series, where we’ll spotlight innovative use cases, share practical guides, and celebrate the incredible projects built by our community. Whether you’re just starting with Chapa or are a seasoned integrator, our series will provide the inspiration, education, and support you need.

Championing Open Source Communities

We believe in the power of collaboration, and in 2025, we’re expanding our support for open-source communities:

Expanding Projects:

Building on the success of initiatives like Chapa Inline, Chapa CLI, EthiopianLogos, and Dozens of SDKs, we aim to launch and contribute to more impactful projects in fintech and beyond.

Developer Grants:

We’ll introduce funding opportunities for developers creating open-source payment solutions and community-driven tools.

Partnerships:

Collaborating with organizations to leverage technology in solving real-world challenges.

Enhancing SDKs and Payment APIs

Streamlining business operations remains a top priority. This year, we’re focusing on:

New SDKs and Updates:

Launching SDKs for more programming languages and platforms, ensuring seamless integration into any ecosystem.

Enhanced Payment APIs:

Rolling out features like subscription payments, customizable dashboards, and real-time analytics and notifications to empower businesses.

Documentation Overhaul:

Making integration effortless with improved guides, video tutorials, and an interactive API playground.

Advancing AI for Low-Resource Languages

AI is transforming industries, and we’re committed to making these advancements accessible for low-resource languages, including Amharic:

Fine-Tuning LLMs:

Building on our work with Chapi and LLaMA, we’ll fine-tune AI models to understand and process local languages better.

Collaborating with the Community:

Partnering with researchers and developers to ensure inclusivity and cultural relevance in AI applications.

Expanding AI Use Cases:

From conversational interfaces to transactional message processing, we’re leveraging AI to solve real-world problems while setting standards for underrepresented languages.

Supporting Developers Beyond Code

Our commitment goes beyond technology. In 2025, we’re fostering a thriving developer ecosystem by:

• Hosting Meetups:

Engaging with the community through events and workshops to share knowledge and gather feedback.

• Training and Certifications:

Introducing programs to help developers become certified Chapa integration experts.

• Hackathons:

Providing opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and creative problem-solving.

Building Together for a Seamless Future

As we continue this journey, our goal remains simple: to help you build faster, smarter, and more inclusive solutions. 

Thank you for being part of this journey. Let’s make 2025 a transformative year for developers everywhere. Together, we’ll redefine what’s possible.

Stay tuned to our blog for updates, insights, and announcements.

Stay hydrated, and take care!

Melkam Gize :)