The news:
- Risevest, a Nigerian wealth management platform that provides its users access to Nigerian stocks and international investments, is reportedly planning to acquire Hisa, a Kenyan-based fintech startup that enables users to buy US stocks.
- Suppose the Nigerian-born fintech, established in 2014, completes this deal, it’ll help the company expand its operations to Kenya and mark its second acquisition since it bought Chaka, a digital trading startup, in September 2023.
- This comes nearly a month since Bamboo, another Nigerian online stock platform, kicked off operations in South Africa.
TechCabal reported that the deal, which began in late 2023, is still an ongoing conversation. When the publication contacted the fintech for comments about the acquisition, Eke Urum, Founder and CEO of Risevest stated that the startup is always looking to get into talks with other companies, including Hisa, to find “potential alignments.”
However, Urum noted that no agreement has been reached yet with Hisa. Hisa, on the other hand, has yet to issue any statement.
Risevest, backed by Ventures Platform and Techstars, is believed to have about 600,000 users on its platform.
Hisa was valued at $5 million post-money, following $250,000 in pre-seed funding in 2022 from several angel investors.
The fintech startup, which is still relatively new in a sector long dominated by commercial banks with investing subsidiaries, offers Kenyans access to global investing opportunities. Ndovu is one of Hisa’s major competitors.
Hisa, established in 2020 by Eric Asuma, is licenced by the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya (CMA) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
By acquiring the Kenyan online stock platform, RiseVest will gain market share in the East African nation without registering a new entity and obtaining new licences from regulators.
One of Risevest’s executives said, “The market is there based on the numbers and I believe working with a local team might be the best chance of cracking it.”
