Baxi, one of Nigeria’s leading super-agent networks, has been acquired by MFS Africa, a pan-African payments company, to enable the latter’s expansion into the country.
Baxi, founded in 2014 by Degbola Abudu and Folu Majekodunmi, provides a cash-in/cash-out service as well as value-added services to the last mile through its network of over 90,000 agents.
MFS Africa, the largest pan-African digital payments hub, has acquired the startup, which has already processed over $1 billion in transactions this year. MFS Africa, which last year acquired East African payments management company Beyonic, intends to make Baxi a significant node on its digital payment network, allowing clients to send and receive regional and international payments to and from Nigeria.
MFS Africa will expand into Nigeria for the first time, subject to Central Bank of Nigeria approval, after having a limited presence due to the country’s tiny number of mobile wallets. MFS Africa will also expand Baxi’s offline SMEs offering to select markets throughout MFS Africa’s 320 million mobile wallets in over 35 African countries.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the MFS Africa team to expand our service offering for individuals and SMEs. We believe that we’ve barely scratched the market’s potential. Only three per cent of Nigerian SMEs have access to credit products. By teaming up with MFS Africa, and with the strong support of our local commercial banking partners, we can offer more value-added products and services, such as cross-border payments, to support Nigerian SMEs in their growth,” said Degbola Abudu, Baxi chief executive officer (CEO).
