Nigerian Payment processor, Paystack has been acquired for over $200M by one of America’s leading financial service company, Stripe.
Paystack is one of the leading tech companies in Nigeria with over 60, 000 customers including small businesses, corporations, tech companies and more.
The deal which is reportedly worth over $200M is the highest acquisition of a Nigerian startup to date. The deal comes as a surprise to most in the tech sector in Nigeria.
The co-founder and CEO of Paystack, Shola Akinlade said they were not actively looking to sell but the offer from Stripes was too good to refuse.
“Paystack was not for sale when Stripe approached us
“For us, it’s about the mission. I’m driven by the mission to accelerate payments on the continent, and I am convinced that Stripe will help us get there faster. It is a very natural move.”
Meanwhile, Patrick Collison, the co-founder and CEO of Stripes, told TechCrunch the reason behind their latest acquisition.
“There is enormous opportunity… In absolute numbers, Africa may be smaller right now than other regions, but online commerce will grow about 30% every year. And even with wider global declines, online shoppers are growing twice as fast. Stripe thinks on a longer time horizon than others because we are an infrastructure company. We are thinking of what the world will look like in 2040-2050.”
The news has been well received in Nigeria, with many showing their delight on social media.
