dLocal, a prominent Latin American fintech unicorn renowned for connecting global merchants to emerging markets, has formally announced its intention to acquire AZA Finance, a pioneering fintech company specializing in cross-border payments and foreign exchange solutions across Africa. This strategic transaction, which is currently pending regulatory approval, signifies a major step for dLocal in strengthening its presence and operational capabilities within the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, particularly focusing on the African continent.

While the precise financial terms of the deal have not been officially disclosed by either company, reports from Bloomberg have indicated that the acquisition values AZA Finance at approximately $150 million. According to insights into dLocal's acquisition strategy, the company typically structures such deals based on transaction volumes rather than conventional equity takeovers. This approach often involves upfront cash payments combined with revenue-sharing agreements, enabling dLocal to benefit from payment flows while pursuing a capital-light expansion strategy into high-growth emerging markets.

For dLocal, this acquisition represents a significant strategic entry into key African markets where it previously lacked an operational footprint. These new territories include Botswana, Mozambique, and Guinea, expanding dLocal's reach beyond its current support for local payment processing in 13 African countries. AZA Finance, by contrast, already operates in 17 African countries. The integration aims to substantially boost dLocal’s scale and capabilities across the continent, increase its cross-border transaction volumes, and enhance its remittance services by leveraging AZA Finance's experienced team and deep local market expertise.

In return for being acquired, AZA Finance stands to gain considerable advantages. Access to dLocal’s extensive global merchant network and robust infrastructure is expected to significantly expand AZA Finance's reach and operational scale, allowing it to serve a broader clientele and process a larger volume of transactions. This synergy is anticipated to accelerate AZA Finance's growth trajectory within the burgeoning African digital payments landscape.

AZA Finance, originally founded in 2013 by Elizabeth Rossiello as BitPesa, was one of Africa’s earliest blockchain-based remittance startups. Its initial mission was to address the high costs and inefficiencies prevalent in cross-border payments by utilizing Bitcoin to bypass traditional banking systems. As the company matured and its scope broadened beyond cryptocurrency, it rebranded in 2019 to AZA Finance, evolving into a comprehensive digital foreign exchange and payment platform. Today, AZA Finance supports transactions in a multitude of African and G20 currencies.

Over the years, AZA Finance has built an impressive track record, having processed over $2 billion in global transactions for a diverse client base spanning 115 countries, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), multinational corporations, and development organizations. The company has also actively pursued growth through strategic acquisitions of its own, such as the purchase of Spanish remittance platform TransferZero in 2018 and South African payment firm Exchange4Free in 2021. Furthermore, AZA Finance secured $15 million in debt financing from the Development Bank of Southern Africa to fuel its expansion initiatives.

This acquisition occurs amidst a notable wave of fintech mergers and acquisitions across Africa, exemplified by Nigerian fintech LemFi's acquisition of Irish currency exchange platform Bureau Buttercrane and South African payments infrastructure startup Stitch's acquisition of ExiPay in January 2025. dLocal's CEO, Pedro Arnt, confirmed in January that the company was actively exploring acquisition opportunities, expressing strong confidence in the significant growth potential of the emerging markets payment space. Arnt believes that by maintaining market leadership, dLocal could see its valuation rebound above $20 billion. The combination of dLocal's global infrastructure and AZA Finance's regional expertise is poised to simplify and scale cross-border payments across Africa, one of the world’s most complex yet opportunity-rich markets.

Ultimately, the intended acquisition of AZA Finance by dLocal is set to create a formidable force in the African fintech sector. By combining their respective strengths, the unified entity aims to deliver more localized and seamless payment experiences, fostering greater financial inclusion and facilitating smoother international trade for businesses operating in and with Africa.