Fintech
South African fintech startup Peach Payments acquires custom software development firm Operativa
South African digital payments provider Peach Payments has acquired customer software development firm Operativa as a going concern, in its first such deal since closing a $31 million funding round led by Apis Growth Fund II last year.
Founded in Cape Town in 2012, Peach Payments provides a comprehensive toolkit to help businesses accept, manage and deliver payments via web and mobile devices. It is the second largest online payment gateway in South Africa and has also expanded to Kenya and Mauritius.
Last year, the company raised a $31 million Series A funding round from Apis Partners to accelerate its growth across the continent and grow its product offering, and is now executing on this expansion with this acquisition, which will see the entire Operativa team integrated into Peach Payments. Operativa co-founders Dayne Olivier and Ben Janecke assume Principal Engineer positions.
Operativa has been working with Peach Payments since 2022, developing and managing the company’s many payment systems and solutions that have paved the way for Peach Payments’ rapid expansion, including integrating additional payment methods like Apple Pay and adding new merchants and banking partners.
Bringing Operativa’s specialized skills and developers in-house will enable Peach Payments to execute on its growth strategy more quickly and efficiently, said Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments.
“Operativa has been a trusted partner since the beginning of our relationship, so the opportunity to acquire the company was not only a strategic business decision, but seemed like a natural next step,” he said.
“The additional capital raised by Apis Growth Fund II allows us to move faster as we create new products and expand across Africa. Operativa has the people, the skills and the intricate knowledge that comes from working with us on our systems development, allowing us to hit the ground running on some really exciting new projects together.”
Operativa has served clients in the financial services, cybersecurity, e-commerce, and cloud hosting industries. After the acquisition, it is spinning off operations to other clients to ensure business continuity.
“We have always enjoyed working with Peach Payments. We believe they have what it takes to become the undisputed leader in payments in Africa. We see this acquisition as a call to the right team,” said Olivier.