With the African Internet economy and online commerce rapidly growing 75% faster than the global average, technology company Stripe has entered into an agreement to acquire Lagos-based technology company Paystack.
Paystack is a growing engine for modern businesses, co-founded by Shola Akinlade, the chief executive officer and Ezra Olubi, the chief technical officer who recently shared his experience with the Nigerian Police.
Paystack makes it easier for organizations of all sizes to receive payments from anywhere in the world. Over 60,000 Nigerian and Ghanaian businesses have used Paystack to secure online and offline payments, launch new business models and strengthen customer relationships. Paystack recently also started a pilot with businesses in south Africa.
Paystack which already processes over 50% of online transactions in Nigeria has worked closely with Stripe for some years. Their 2018 series “A Financing Round” was led by Stripe.
The technology company Stripe builds economic infrastructure for the internet. Millions of businesses in 42 countries including Amazon, Google, Zoom and Shopify accept payments, run and scale their businesses with Stripe.
“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.” said Matt Henderson, Stripe’s business lead in EMEA.
With their capabilities embedded in Stripe’s Global Payments and Treasury Network (GPTN), Paystack will continue operating independently, growing their operations in Africa and adding more international payment methods. The acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
According to Shola Akinlade,
“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. 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.”
