Nigeria's Prembly merges with Kenyan digital ID startup Peleza

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALJuly 3, 2024 at 5:33 PM UTC

TLDR

Peleza merges with YC-backed Prembly, forming the Prembly Group, with a focus on identity verification and background checks.
Prembly Group aims to expand business in East Africa by leveraging Peleza's industry knowledge and partnerships with Uber, Bolt, and FedEx.
Strategic merger enhances customer service offerings and growth potential in the region.

Kenyan identity management startup Peleza has merged with YC-backed Prembly to form the Prembly Group. Both companies have not disclosed the specific financial details of the transaction.

Prembly specializes in identity verification, security, and compliance, while Peleza focuses on conducting background checks for businesses. Peleza has established key partnerships in East Africa with mobility apps Uber and Bolt, as well as logistics corporation FedEx.

Over the past 18 months, Peleza has been utilizing Prembly’s infrastructure. With this merger, the Prembly Group aims to leverage Peleza’s industry knowledge to expand its East African business and enhance its customer service offerings.

Key Takeaways

The merger of Peleza and Prembly creates a combined team of about 100 employees. Due to role duplications resulting from the merger, at least ten employees will be let go and will receive severance packages. The companies plan to integrate their KYC/B technology platforms to streamline operations. Peleza, founded in 2015, has not disclosed any venture capital funding, whereas Prembly, founded in 2021, raised a $2.8 million seed round in 2022, backed by MaC Venture Capital and Soma Capital. The Middle East & Africa identity verification market was valued at $461 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $1.3 billion by 2030

Peleza

Prembly

Prembly Group

Digital ID

Identity Verification

Fintech

Startups

Nigeria

Kenya

Merger