Stripe adds a new page to its already rich history.
For its 10th anniversary, the American start-up, founded by two Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, is making its first acquisition in Africa, by buying Paystack, one of the finTech nuggets of this continent.
The amount of the transaction "
close to $ 200 million
", according to a source familiar with the matter, makes it one of the largest start-up acquisitions ever made in Africa.
The transaction allows Stripe to increase its geographic footprint.
Paystack will however retain its independence to continue promoting its products and services in Africa.
The Nigerian start-up has more than 60,000 corporate clients, in Niger and Ghana.
They use it to get paid securely online and offline, to launch new business models and to deepen their relationships with their customers.
Stripe will also rely on its new African subsidiary to develop its global payments and treasury network (GPTN), its payment management and acceptance system.
In ten years, the company has risen to the level of large financial institutions.
When it last fundraised in September 2019, Stripe was valued at $ 35 billion (€ 30 billion).
This is three times more than the market capitalization of Societe Generale and a little less than BNP Paribas (39 billion dollars).
By adding Paystack to its track record, Stripe is giving itself the means to continue its double-digit growth.