Local fintech firm Peach Payments has acquired customer software development firm Operativa, with the full acquisition expected to be completed by August.
The acquisition, says the digital payments provider, is its first since concluding a $30 million (R551 million) funding round, led by the Apis Growth Fund II, in 2023.
According to a statement, the acquisition, for an undisclosed amount, will see the full Operativa team integrated into Peach Payments.
Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments, says: “Operativa has been a trusted partner since the very beginning of our relationship, so the opportunity to acquire the business was not only a strategic business decision, but felt like a natural next step.”
Operativa is said to be instrumental in building the technical architecture that paved the way for Peach Payments' expansion. As a result, bringing its capabilities in-house will allow the company to deliver on its growth strategy more effectively and efficiently, says the fintech firm.
The company services clients in the financial services, information security, e-commerce and cloud hosting industries. Following the acquisition, it will hand over operations for its other clients to ensure business continuity.
Operativa co-founders Dayne Olivier and Ben Janecke – who have worked with Peach Payments since 2022 – will take on principal engineer positions.
“We have always really enjoyed working with Peach Payments. We believe the business has what it takes to become the undisputed payments leader in Africa. We see this acquisition as a call up to the winning team,” says Olivier.
Janecke says the decision to sell the business had been influenced by a number of factors, including the relationship with Peach Payments and its plans for the future, as well as market conditions.
“We were able to build something really special with Operativa. We made significant strides working with Peach Payments as our partner, and we are confident that as an integrated business, we’ll be able to achieve even more,” Janecke adds.
Bringing Operativa’s specialised skills and developers in-house allows Peach Payments to deliver on its growth strategy more quickly and efficiently, he notes.
“The additional capital raised from the Apis Growth Fund II is allowing us to execute faster as we build new products and expand across Africa. Operativa has the people, skills and intricate knowledge that comes from having worked with us on developing our systems, allowing us to hit the ground running together on some really exciting new projects.”
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