Global Ambitions

South Africa’s fintech Ukheshe to seek $100m for acquisitions

By David Whitehouse

Premium badge Reserved for subscribers

Posted on October 11, 2021 13:51

Ukheshepic © Ukheshe non-executive director Prins Mhlanga, CEO Clayton Hayward, CFO Mike Smits  and COO Anton van der Merwe. Photo supplied.
Ukheshe non-executive director Prins Mhlanga, CEO Clayton Hayward, CFO Mike Smits and COO Anton van der Merwe. Photo supplied.

South African fintech Ukheshe Technologies will seek to raise up to $100m for acquisitions in the next 12 months, CEO Clayton Hayward tells The Africa Report.

The funding sought will be a combination of debt and equity. “There is always going to be consolidation in the industry” and Ukheshe wants to be involved, Hayward says in Johannesburg. A current funding round, which is seeking to raise $30m-$40m for current organic growth plans, will close in about eight weeks, Hayward says.

Ukheshe uses a cloud-based Application Programming Interface (API), which employs artificial intelligence to provide back-end capability for financial-services providers. The solution is used in areas such as customer onboarding, digital payments, card provision and cryptocurrencies. Haywood says the company’s niche is [in offering] “fintech as a service.”

  • Ukheshe aims to provide the “common fabric behind fintech propositions in emerging markets,” he says, and is targeting “anyone who wants to scale quickly” as customers.

The company aims to [increase] its African

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime