Nigeria's Risevest acquires digital trading fintech Chaka

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALSeptember 27, 2023 at 12:34 PM UTC

Fintech company, Risevest, has acquired digital trading platform Chaka for an undisclosed amount. The latter was founded in 2019 to ease the difficulty Nigerians face in investing in global and local companies.

The acquisition deal was concluded and approved on Tuesday after months of negotiation. Chaka and RiseVest will remain separate products and will continue to work on their product roadmaps and collaborate to improve products.

A report by TechCabal quoted Chaka’s founder Tosin Osinbodu, saying: "We’re excited, especially from the perspective of people; high level and strategically, this deal makes sense. I’m excited about how Chaka’s product will evolve and how we’re going to learn from the Risevest team.”

Key Takeaways

Startups are increasingly turning to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as their primary exit strategy, a means of realizing the value of their ventures. Notably, Africa's startup ecosystem has experienced a significant upswing in M&A activities, with South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria leading the charge. The acquisition of Paystack by Stripe in 2020 acted as a catalyst for M&A activity in Nigeria's fintech sector. Additionally, various other sectors have witnessed smaller yet impactful M&A deals, such as Lynk's acquisition by EdenLife, Autochek's purchase of KIFAL Auto, CoinAfrique, and the recent majority stake acquisition in AutoTager. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, seven M&A transactions occurred within the African startup ecosystem, totaling over $710 million. In contrast, only two startups have pursued initial public offerings (IPOs), the other common exit route for startups worldwide, since 2019.