Nigerian fintech startup One Finance (OneFi) has acquired payments solution Amplify as it continues its progress towards becoming a full service digital bank.
OneFi, which runs lending platform Paylater and is on an expansion push after raising US$5 million in debt funding last week, boosts its financial services offering with the acquisition of Amplify as it adds the startups assets, tradements and flagship products, – AmplifyPay and mTransfers – to its portfolio.
Paylater, OneFi’s consumer-facing lending platform, provides users with hassle-free loans. The acquisition of Amplify will see the platform pivot to a one-stop-shop offering additional products such as savings, bill payments and credit reporting.
“Today’s announcement signals OneFi’s first acquisition; a strategic decision that kicks off our transformation from a digital lender to a diverse digital financial services platform focused on transactions, payments and loans and will ensure we meet our ambitious goal of doubling our size in Nigeria this year,” said Chijioke Dozie, OneFi founder and chief executive officer (CEO).
“We have long respected the Amplify team for their ability to provide innovative solutions under adverse conditions, and we look forward to blending our expertise to power the future of fintech infrastructure and digital payments in Africa.”
Launched in 2015 by Segun Adeyemi and Maxwell Obi, who first met as Entrepreneurs-in-Training at the MEST Africa Entrepreneurial Training Programme in Ghana, Amplify has become one of Nigeria’s leading online recurring payment processors, supporting over 1,000 merchants and facilitating digital transactions for four of the country’s largest banks.
Following the acquisition, Obi will join the OneFi team to oversee the payments direction of the company, whilst Adeyemi will depart to pursue new ventures.
“The key factor which stood out in our decision to work with OneFi was that we saw them as an extension of our vision. We stepped into this industry to use our payment solutions to facilitate a growing economy, and OneFi’s focus on financial inclusion feeds well into this. It’s a real example of a collaborative effort, and I’m excited to see the next chapter of our development,” Obi said.
