Digital payment technology provider Stripe agreed yesterday to acquire one of its portfolio companies, Nigeria-based counterpart Paystack, for an amount sources told TechCrunch was above $200m.
Founded in 2015, Paystack offers a range of digital payment tools covering areas including payment collection and disbursement, financial reporting, identity verification and e-commerce management to a customer base of some 60,000 businesses in Nigeria and Ghana.
The company will expand across Africa as an independent subsidiary of Stripe, beginning with a planned entry into South Africa. Its tool will also be absorbed into the corporate’s Global Payments and Treasury Network, which helps power business expansion across 42 countries.
Stripe led Paystack’s $8m series A round in August 2018, investing together with internet group Tencent and payment services firm Visa. The round was subsequently increased to $10.2m the following month, according to a securities filing.
Tencent had already backed a $1.3m seed round for the company in 2016 that included Comcast Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mass media group Comcast, as well as Singularity Investments, Tokyo Founders Fund, Blue Rinc Capital, Pave Investments, Spark, M&S Partners, KIBS-CFY Partners and various individuals.
Matt Henderson, Stripe’s business lead in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, said: “In just five years, Paystack has done what many companies could not achieve in decades. Their tech-first approach, values and ambition greatly align with our own.
“This acquisition will give Paystack resources to develop new products, support more businesses and consolidate the hyper-fragmented African payments market. We cannot wait to see what they will build next and how their growth can turbocharge the African tech ecosystem.”
