Moniepoint Inc. has received approval from the competition regulator in Kenya to acquire Kopo Kopo, a Kenyan based company that provides payment services and credit to businesses. With the green light from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CA), Moniepoint (formerly known as TeamApt) is set to expand its services in Kenya as part of its growth strategy across the continent.
Moniepoint Inc., known for operating one of Nigeria’s largest business payment and banking platforms, is eager to venture into new markets with well-established banking or payment infrastructures.
“We have a publicly stated interest in Kenya as part of our mission to provide financial happiness for people across Africa and are delighted to have reached the milestone of securing regulatory approval for our plans.” group CEO Tosin Eniolorunda said.
Kopo Kopo, established in 2010 by Ben Lyon and Dylan Higgins, has successfully raised $5.4 million in funding from renowned investors such as Accion Venture Lab, Javelin Venture Partners, First Light Ventures, and Khosla Impact, as reported by Crunchbase. The company offers integrated software solutions that encompass digital payments, credit access, and various other business tools. Its comprehensive range of services includes payment aggregation, business-to-business payments, merchant cash advances, business intelligence, and more.
In addition to extending credit to businesses, Kopo Kopo empowers small merchants to accept mobile money payments from their customers. Moniepoint has set its sights on Kenya’s MSME digital lending sector, particularly its well-established mobile money market currently dominated by Safaricom’s M-Pesa service.
“The Competition Authority of Kenya has approved the proposed acquisition of 100% shares in Kopo Kopo Inc. by Moniepoint Inc. unconditionally…This approval has been granted based on the two key considerations during the merger analysis that; first, the transaction is unlikely to negatively impact competition in the market for digital credit; and second, the transaction will not elicit negative public interest concerns,” said CA in a statement.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, Moniepoint operates as a payment gateway while also offering capital and expansion loans, as well as expense management tools including business payments cards, accounting and bookkeeping solutions, and insurance services to businesses.
