Stripe Acquires Paystack In Deal Reportedly Worth Over $200 Million

The USA based payment processing giant, Stripe, has acquired a leading Nigerian fintech startup, Paystack, in what has been described as the biggest Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) deal in Nigerian tech and Stripe’s biggest acquisition anywhere around the world.

Even though the terms of the deal were not made public, sources say it is over $200 million dollars.

In Spite of this acquisition, operations would remain independent and there will be no disruption of service on the side of both parties involved.

Speaking on the deal, Shola Akinlade, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Paystack, said the company will be joining Stripe to accelerate online and offline commerce across Africa.

“I am thankful to share that Paystack is joining the Stripe family. We’ll be acquired by Stripe to accelerate online commerce across Africa, pending standard closing conditions including regulatory approvals,” he said.

“Both companies are really, really aligned. I think we are trying to do the same thing. Help people start and scale internet businesses, increase the gross domestic product(GDP) of the internet. And I think about how over the next few years, there are going to be bigger exits because now it can be done,” he added.

Patrick Collison, Stripe’s co-founder and chief executive officer, also said there is an enormous opportunity on the continent, noting that Africa may be smaller right now than other regions, but online commerce will grow about 30 percent every year.

“ 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,” he said

Paystack was founded in 2016 by Ezra Olubi and Akinlade to solve the challenge of online payment transactions in Nigeria.

The startup currently has around 60,000 customers, including small businesses, larger corporates, fintechs, educational institutions, and online betting companies with plans for it to continue operating independently.

It is also looking to expand beyond Nigeria and Ghana, with talks of expanding to South Africa in the coming months.