By Beth Ngugi
Apis Growth Fund I, a private equity fund managed by the Apis partners LLP, has invested in The Direct Pay Online Group (DPO Group) to aid in building of a pan-African payments processor.
The DPO Group, formerly known as 3G Direct Pay Limited is the leading online payments processor in East Africa, with operations across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Zambia and serves over 5000 clients in the region.
This marks a new phase in the DPO Group expansion across Africa, as it continues to lead the market in providing bespoke solutions to both existing and new clients.
Speaking during the unveiling of the new capital injection, the Group CEO, Mr. Eran Feinstein said that with the expected increase of smart-phone penetration across Africa by three-fold to over 540 million handsets merged with improved access to 3G networks and reduced data costs, a momentous growth in online and mobile commerce is expected to be perceived by 2020.
“The DPO Group aims to assist both entrepreneurs and enterprises in accessing these new customers by providing seamless and scalable payment solution for all online and mobile payments regardless of geography, payment type or platform.” Mr. Feinstein noted.
He highlighted their intentions to expand the local presence to more than 10 countries across East, West and Southern Africa over the next year and to offer merchant acquiring abilities in 25 countries across the whole continent.
Offer Gat, the Group Chairman, said that the deep expertise in the emerging market and a track record of partnering with entrepreneurs by Apis will play a big role in executing its high growth strategic expansion plan for the coming years.
“Our aim at DPO Group is to revolutionize the payments arena in Africa by giving freedom to everyone to pay and be paid online anywhere anytime and by any mode of payment.” He said.
Matteo Stefanel, Apis Co-Founder and Managing partner commenting on the investment said that it is a strong representation of Apis strategy of investing in well-managed business operating in high-growth sectors and providing quality services to African consumers.
“The shift of consumers from physical to digital channels is one of the most significant trends in our markets, and we believe online payments are at the centre of these developments.” Stefanel said.
Udayan Goyal, Apis Co-Founder and Managing Partner expressed his delight towards working with the team and their vision to serve more merchants and improve their online shopping experiences of consumers in Africa.
The DPO Group processes payments from all major credit cards, mobile money and e-wallets, and is the only payment service provider in East Africa holding PCI DSS Level 1 Certification, the highest security certification in the payment cards industry.