Stripe, a US-based financial services and software service company has agreed to buy one of Nigeria’s biggest fintech giants, Paystack, in a deal that so far is the biggest start-up acquisition from Nigeria.
Co-founded in 2016 by Shola Akinlade, the Chief Executive Officer and Ezra Olubi, the Chief Technical Officer, Paystack is a technology company based in Lagos that makes it easy for organisations of all sizes to collect payments from around the world.
Both companies have been working closely together for some time now, and in 2018, Stripe led Paystack’s Series A financing round which provided ongoing guidance as the company rapidly scaled.
“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 can’t wait to see what they will build next and how their growth can turbocharge the African tech ecosystem.” – Matt Henderson, EMEA, Stripe.
For now, the Paystack brand will continue to operate independently, growing its operations in Africa and adding more international payment methods. Over time, its capabilities will then be embedded in Stripe’s Global Payments and Treasury Network (GPTN), a programmable platform for global money movement that currently spans 42 countries.
“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. – Shola Akinlade, CEO, Paystack
1 comment
This is really inspiring, once we get our leadership right, this country will blossom