Emergent Technology Holdings LP ("EmTech"), a global financial technology company, is pleased to announce it has acquired Interpay Limited ("Interpay Africa"), a payments processor based in Ghana.
The acquisition extends the operations of EmTech's digital payments business, Emergent Payments®, a local payments provider in 70 emerging markets.
Interpay Africa connects African merchants to local and international payments capabilities across mobile money, traditional payment and local bank platforms. The company has over 40 employees in offices in Ghana, Benin and Pakistan.
"This investment demonstrates EmTech's total commitment to Africa and our unwavering belief in the region's potential. African markets are highly complex and require a meticulous approach," said Tim Davis, EmTech's Managing Director, EMEA. "We are accelerating our African expansion with technical solutions already integrated with local participants and an on-the-ground team with a deep understanding of the consumer culture and regulatory environment."
Emergent Payments is a payment facilitator for large-scale digital merchants expanding into emerging markets. Through a single API integration, merchants gain access to local payment services in emerging market countries throughout Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The Interpay Africa acquisition marks the launch of EmTech's Africa 20-20-20 strategy, expanding Emergent Payments' services into 20 African countries by 2020.
"Africa presents incredible e-commerce growth opportunities. The young population of over a billion people is rapidly embracing technology innovation and is increasingly demanding goods and services, both local and foreign. The payments landscape is developing fast. We are excited to be part of EmTech's vision to further advance local payment services across the region and to provide the best regulatory, tax and FX solutions to global merchants," said Saqib Nazir, Interpay Africa's CEO.
EmTech will also launch its G-Coin digital tokens into the African market in 2019. G-Coin tokens are digital certificates of title to responsibly sourced physical gold and are a viable alternative to volatile local currencies.
"We are enthusiastic about bringing more African consumers into the financial system. With G-Coin tokens, the unbanked and underserved can sustain their wealth and interact with their community, local businesses, and indeed global merchants that they had previously been cut off from," said Mr. Davis.
"A large part of Africa's population is at the bottom of the pyramid, and if Africa is to realize its potential, then this segment has to be financially included. Mobile phones and mobile money have made this group more visible, but more effort is needed. EmTech is making significant strides to build an ecosystem that encourages greater financial inclusion, and we welcome being a part of that collaborative effort moving forward," said Mr. Nazir.
Interpay Limited has been renamed Emergent Payments Ghana Limited and will do business as Emergent Payments Africa.