Nigerian retail-tech startup OmniRetail has announced the acquisition of Traction Apps, a leading payment solutions provider for small merchants in Nigeria.
Founded in 2019, OmniRetail is a B2B enablement company that provides the necessary digital infrastructure to tackle some of the most pressing challenges within Africa’s commerce value chain, particularly by addressing the needs of informal retailers.
Through its flagship platform, Omnibiz, and innovative tools like OmniPay and Mplify, OmniRetail equips retailers with essential resources and tools to procure products, build and access credit, and optimize their business for higher profitability and scale. With over 140,000 small retailers and 90 brands onboarded, the company is well-positioned to redefine the retail industry in the region.
The startup, which kicked off its latest round fundraising with an undisclosed amount of funding from Goodwell investments in April, has now acquired Traction Apps. Founded by Mayowa Alli and Dolapo Adejuyigbe in 2020, Traction Apps provides over 100,000 merchants with access to a one-stop platform that includes payment acceptance, lending, and retail software solutions.
The acquisition will allow OmniRetail to integrate Traction’s merchant POS services into OmniPay’s existing ecosystem, creating an enhanced financial platform for retailers.
“This acquisition is a testament to the synergies we’ve built with Traction. What started as a partnership to integrate Traction’s POS into OmniPay for card payments has grown into a full merger. Together, we will simplify payments, credit access, and loyalty solutions for retailers and SMEs, helping them thrive in an increasingly digital market,” said Deepankar Rustagi, CEO of OmniRetail.
Traction co-founder Mayowa Alli said the integration would allow the startup to scale its solutions and accelerate its vision of simplifying payments at the retail level.
“OmniRetail’s ecosystem will enable us to bring our innovative solutions to a wider audience, benefiting even more small businesses across Nigeria and beyond,” he said.
Dolapo Adejuyigbe, co-founder of Traction, said building Traction had been about empowering small businesses to grow and thrive.
“Now, as part of OmniRetail, we will become the leading growth partner for SMEs across Nigeria, offering a more comprehensive platform than ever before,” he said.
The combined entity will now service 180,000 customers across wholesale and retail sectors, positioning itself as a leader in the FMCG merchant space. The founding team of Traction will join OmniRetail’s leadership, with a focus on growing OmniPay, integrating solutions, and driving product development.
“Their expertise in fintech infrastructure, combined with our retail knowledge, will drive innovation and growth,” said Dika Oha, chief platform officer of OmniRetail.
Ventures Platform, a key investor in both OmniRetail and Traction, played an instrumental role in facilitating this collaboration.
“We believe in leveraging the strengths of our portfolio companies to create more robust solutions. This acquisition is a major step forward in building more comprehensive offerings for African SMEs,” said Dotun Olowoporoku, partner at Ventures Platform.
The acquisition will proceed in phases, starting with eliminating redundancies and focusing on platform integration. The full integration of Traction with OmniPay will be completed by the end of Q1 2025, with enhanced services rolling out to customers shortly thereafter.
“As part of this acquisition, we will onboard both debt and equity from Traction, allowing Traction’s investors to benefit from the combined entitiy’s continued growth,” said Rustagi.
