Cape Town-based fintech company Peach Payments has announced its first strategic entry into Francophone West Africa through the acquisition of PayDunya, a digital payments platform headquartered in Senegal. This move represents Peach Payments’ latest expansion, building on its successful entries into markets such as Eswatini, Mauritius, and Kenya, and is its third deal since closing its most recent funding round in late 2023.

Founded in 2012, Peach Payments has established itself as a provider of robust digital payment tools, enabling businesses to seamlessly accept, manage, and disburse payments across mobile and web platforms. The company has experienced significant growth, fueled by US$31 million in funding, which has underpinned its aggressive expansion strategy and recent acquisitions. CEO and co-founder Rahul Jain emphasized that the true measure of success lies in leveraging this funding for business expansion, not merely in fundraising itself.

PayDunya, launched in Dakar in 2015, has rapidly expanded its operations across six Francophone countries in West Africa. The platform’s core offering is a unified API designed to simplify payment processing, allowing businesses to efficiently receive and send payments, thereby streamlining both sales and day-to-day operations. PayDunya has been instrumental in making digital payments more accessible to a wide array of African entrepreneurs and enterprises within the region.

This acquisition is strategically significant for Peach Payments, as it allows the company to penetrate the UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) and CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) regions. As Rahul Jain articulated, this expansion unlocks new opportunities for merchants, granting access to a combined population of over 450 million people across the 12 countries where Peach Payments will now operate, with plans for rapid further expansion. The transaction, pending routine legal and regulatory procedures, is expected to finalize in the coming months.

Aziz Yérima, CEO and co-founder of PayDunya, expressed enthusiasm about the merger, stating, “We are thrilled to join forces with Peach Payments. Together, we are poised to create a seamless, inclusive, and robust payment ecosystem that empowers African businesses to thrive in the digital economy.” This collaboration is set to bolster efforts for cross-border and international merchants, aligning with Peach Payments’ broader pan-African vision.

The acquisition arrives at a pivotal moment when digital financial services are becoming increasingly critical across Africa. While Francophone West Africa has seen substantial mobile money adoption, it has historically lagged behind Anglophone countries in attracting fintech investment due to challenges in interoperability and digital infrastructure. However, the UEMOA and CEMAC economic zones, which benefit from shared currencies and financial regulations, present a unique advantage for companies like Peach Payments to scale efficiently across borders. By acquiring a regionally recognized and well-integrated brand like PayDunya, which supports both traditional mobile money operators and bank integrations, Peach Payments gains a solid foothold in a previously fragmented ecosystem. This expansion aligns with broader African initiatives to deepen financial inclusion and promote cashless economies, and the deal is anticipated to stimulate further innovation in financial technology integration and cross-regional collaborations within the African fintech landscape.