The news
- Egyptian buy now, pay later startup, valU has announced a complete acquisition of HR startup, Paynas.
- With the acquisition, valU can now combine its BNPL offerings with Paynas’s HR offerings allowing it to reach a larger audience.
After decades where many Africans struggled to access credit, much progress has been made in the last decade through fintech startups that have transformed the lending landscape. Buy now, pay later has gradually become an option for many in Africa’s urban cities.
In Egypt, valU, a fintech startup founded in 2017 to provide BNPL services in the North African country, has acquired Paynas, a human resource startup.
Before the acquisition, Paynas helped micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country to manage their HR needs, including attendance, vacation, leave, payroll, reporting, and analytics. With this acquisition, the company joins valU, where its services will complement the startup’s existing BNPL offerings.
Walid Hassouna, valU CEO, hinted at the company’s ambitions.
“Paynas is a strategic fit for us, and the combination of our two companies will drive significant value for our shareholders and customers by delivering a 360° financial and lifestyle enabling solution, with the objective of addressing every aspect of people’s lives and the goal of improving their overall quality of living.”
valU has been active this year, raising $12 million in June 2022 and an undisclosed amount in August 2022.
The acquisition of Paynas opens up numerous opportunities for the fintech startup. For one, its BNPL services can now be sold to Paynas’s existing customers, who are MSMEs, a move which should increase its revenues.
It also boosts its ability to compete against other players in the space, including Sympl, which raised $6 million in 2021 and MNT-Halan.
