Smile Identity Expands Operations Across Africa, Acquires Appruve to Improve Identification Verification Services

Software company Smile Identity has expanded its operations across Africa, following the acquisition of Ghanaian company Appruve, to improve identification services.

The acquisition will enable Smile to integrate Appruve’s technology into its platform, making it more robust and efficient in the detection and prevention of fraud. Smile revealed that its recent acquisition will solidify its position as Africa’s leading identity verification and digital KYC provider.

The company further stated that it is actively fulfilling regulatory requirements to finalize the transaction for the (inclusive innovation) affiliated entities in Africa.

Speaking on the acquisition by Smile Identity, CEO of Appruve Paul Damalie said,

“These are relevant localized data that have long been left out of the bigger pool of KYC and fraud prevention. It’s these capabilities, experience, and know-how that we are bringing on board, working together with Smile, which just launched an AML product, to build a fully comprehensive product and solution for the market”.

Appruve is an API that enables the verification of user identity, fraud detection, regulatory compliance, and digital documentation.

On the other hand, Smile Identity hopes that the acquisition will help it expand its suite of APIs, which includes data, anti-fraud checks and mobile money, allowing it to cover over 1 billion Africans, the African diaspora, and 100 million African businesses, supporting over 230 documents and data types with integration options for every device and operating system combination in Africa.

Founded in 2016 with its base in Lagos, Smile Identity offers onboarding, user authentication, identity verification, and digital KYC service for Africa. It offers biometric authentication, customer onboarding, document verification, fraud prevention, user verification, KYC compliance and business verification services.

Investors Kings understands that the startup has been building their product since 2017 and are ready to take to new limits. In February 2023, Smile Identity, raised a $20 million Series B fund to ramp up their products across the continent.