Y-Combinator-backed Nigerian fintech Paystack has closed on $1.3-million in seed funding from the likes of Tencent, Comcast Ventures and M&S Partners.
"Having painstakingly identified the many barriers that merchants on the continent have when it comes to online payments, we have built and refined a product for Africa that we hope will act as a catalyst for the continent's online economy, be it on-demand services, ecommerce, travel & hospitality, financial services or entertainment," said CEO Shola Akinlade.
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Co-founded by Akinlade and Ezra Olubi (pictured), the Paystack online payments platform offers users a seamless multi-channel payment option with merchants across Nigeria, allowing them to accept payments from all over the globe.The company will focus on product development, building customer capacity and its Lagos-based engineering team now that it has secured funding.
"We know Africa's digital economy has potential, many billions of dollars of potential, we simply need to unlock it and make businesses work better, faster and more effectively. Paystack will do this. Thanks to the backing from our investors with today's announcement, and our time spent with Y-Combinator, we are now in the strongest position yet to resolve the disconnect between African businesses and accepting payments," said Akinlade.
