MFS Africa Moves to Expand Operations, Raises Additional $100 Million

Africa’s leading payments start-up, MFS Africa has raised an additional $100 million in equity and debt to expand its operations across Africa and integrate into the global digital payment ecosystem.

The company has now raised a combined $200 million in its Series C round led by an African investment manager, Admaius Capital Partners. Also, investors like AfricInvest Five and CommerzVentures that participated in the first Series C round doubled down while Vitruvian Partners and AXA Investment Managers made the first investment in the company.

Stanbic IBTC Bank, a Lagos-based lender, and Symbiotic will finance MFS Africa’s debt.

Explaining the reason for the new investment, MFS Africa said the fund is meant to achieve four main objectives:

• To expand operations across Africa
• Integrate into the global digital payment ecosystem
• Expansion into Asia and create cross-border payments synergies with Africa via a joint venture with LUNa Partners
• And carry out its growth plans for BAXI, a startup it acquired late last year.

Last week, Financial Times reported that MFS Africa had acquired a U.S.-based Global Technology Partners (GTP) in a cash-and-shares deal estimated at $34 million, this acquisition set MFS Africa apart from other African startups and further highlighted the company’s acquisition for expansion strategy.

For instance, the BAXI acquisition has given MFS Africa access to the Payment Service Solution Provider (PSSB) and Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP) licenses. With the PSSP license, BAXI can build gateways that process payments for third parties and the PTSP license will allow the company to operate point of sale terminals for agency banking currently being pushed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Investors King stated.

Founder and CEO Dare Okoudjou explained that the strength of MFS Africa is in digital infrastructure building and several initiatives to provide access to Africans at home and in the diaspora.

“The strength of our business model is grounded on building a lasting digital infrastructure that unleashes and simplifies economic activities across the continent through any-to-any interoperability,” Okoudjou said in a statement. “Our multiple initiatives and solutions are providing access to Africans, at home and in the diaspora. We are building MFS Africa into a safe, sound, scalable and high-impact pan-African payment infrastructure that will facilitate Africa’s rapidly growing commerce, both now and in the future.”