US technology giant Stripe acquires Nigerian online commercial platform Paystack for $200m

 

NIGERIAN online commercial platform Paystack has been purchased by US technology giant Stripe for s staggering $200m subject to regulatory approvals in a move aimed at drastically enhancing Internet transactions across Africa.

 

Under the terms of the deal, Strike will now aim to accelerate online and offline commerce across Africa,  using its economies of scale and Paystack's reach. Paystack’s co-founder and chief executive Shola Akinlade, the acquisition would allow organisations of all sizes to easily collect payments from around the world.

 

Stripe is a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet and businesses of every size, from start-ups to public companies, use its software to accept payments and manage their affairs online. Paystack currently processes more than half of all online transactions in Nigeria and has ambitious plans to expand across the African continent, recently starting a pilot project in South Africa.

 

Matt Henderson, Stripe's business lead in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 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 can’t wait to see what they will build next and how their growth can turbo-charge the African tech ecosystem.”

 

Mr Akinlade said Paystack would continue to operate independently, growing its operations in Africa and adding more international payment methods. He added that over time, Paystack's capabilities would be embedded in Stripe’s Global Payments and Treasury Network, 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. We believe deeply that with the right tools, African creators, developers, and entrepreneurs can do incredible things,” Mr Akinlade added.

 

He pointed out that the company would leverage Stripe’s resources and deep expertise to accelerate its expansion and introduce more payment channels, more value-added services, and deeper integrations with global platforms. Despite internet businesses growing faster than the rest of the economy, only about 3% of global commerce happens online today and the two companies hope to expand on this across Africa.

 

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