New Deal Shows that there is Liquidity in Buying and Selling African Startups

DPO Group, a payments services provider for African businesses, has been acquired by Network International, a Dubai-headquartered payments giant in a $288 million deal.  The acquisition will see DPO Group continue to operate under the same brand while being wholly owned by Network International.  DPO Group’s executives will own stock in Network International as part of the transaction.  After decades of being mainly focused on serving Middle East clients, the acquisition of DPO Group allows Network International boost its Africa operations. Nairobi-based DPO Group already provides payments services to nearly 50,000 merchants across the 19 African countries it currently operates. Early projections show Africa could account for 40% of Network International’s annual revenues by 2024, up from 27% last year. DPO Group had raised a total of $15 million in funding in two rounds which were both led by London-based financial services investor Apis Partners, Crunchbase data shows.
 

SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA