Nigeria’s Paystack is set to be acquired by US-based payment technology firm Stripe in a deal reportedly worth over 200 million, in a move expected to accelerate online commerce across Africa.
The acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Paystack is a technology company based in Lagos and serves more than 60,000 businesses in Nigeria and Ghana to securely collect payments from around the world. Incredibly, Paystack already processes more than half of all online transactions in Nigeria and has ambitions to expand across the continent. Recently the firm launched a pilot phase in South Africa.
Two years ago, Paystack raised $8 million in Series A funding led by Stripe with participation from Visa, and follow-on funding from Tencent and Y Combinator, among others. Paystack netted more than $10 million in funding since it was founded four years ago.
“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,” said Matt Henderson, Stripe’s business lead in EMEA. “We can’t wait to see what they will build next and how their growth can turbocharge the African tech ecosystem.”
Paystack will continue to operate independently, growing their operations in Africa and adding more international payment methods. Over time, Paystack’s capabilities will be embedded in Stripe’s Global Payments and Treasury Network (GPTN), a programmable platform for global money movement that currently spans 42 countries.
“Paystack is a growth engine for modern businesses in Africa, and we couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Stripe, whose mission and values are so aligned with ours, to nurture transformative businesses on the continent,” said Shola Akinlade, CEO and co-founder of Paystack. “We believe deeply that with the right tools, African creators, developers, and entrepreneurs can do incredible things. Leveraging Stripe’s resources and deep expertise, we’re excited to accelerate our geographic expansion and introduce more payment channels, more value-added services, and deeper integrations with global platforms.”
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