MFS Africa, the UK-headquartered operator of a digital payment network, has secured $100m in series C financing from investors including CommerzVentures, a subsidiary of financial services firm Commerzbank.
AfricInvest, Goodwell Investments, Lun Partners Group and Allan Gray Ventures also participated in the round along with Equator Capital Partners’ ShoreCap III vehicle and Endeavor South Africa’s Endeavor Catalyst and Endeavor Harvest funds.
Founded in 2010, MFS operates an online payment platform which facilitates the quick and efficient transfer of funds for both individuals and businesses, the latter through Beyonic, which it acquired in June 2020.
The round was split between $70m in equity funding and $30m in debt, the company told TechCrunch. It relocated its headquarters from South Africa to London earlier this year and will be opening offices in the US and China in addition to expanding its presence in Africa.
FSD Africa Investments had provided $2m in funding for MFS in January 2020 having joined Lun Partners Group, Goodwell Investments, ShoreCap III and FSD Africa in its $14m series B round in 2018.
Dare Okoudjou, MFS’s founder and chief executive, said: “This new fundraising round further demonstrates our commitment and the scale of our ambitions.
“For our clients across Africa and beyond, this is also a validation of the choice they have made to partner with us in building a network of networks that make instant cross-border payments as simple as making a phone call. We look forward to continuing to work with them to expand and deepen that network in the years to come.”
