MFS Africa raises $100m in a Series-C funding round for global expansion

MFS Africa announced that it has raised $100 million in a new Series-C funding round co-led by a private equity fund AfricInvest FIVE and existing investors, Goodwell Investments and LUN Partners Group. Other investors that participated in the round include new investors such as CommerzVentures, Allan Gray Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst and Endeavor Harvest and an existing investor, ShoreCap III.

The new funding consists of $70 million equity and $30 million debt and will enable MFS Africa hire additional talent in Africa and globally to support its exponential growth. The funding will also be used to continue strengthening the company’s Governance, Risks and Compliance (GRC) functions as well as its treasury and liquidity pool.

MFS Africa says it will be continuing to invest in fintechs across the African payment ecosystem. The company recently signed an agreement to acquire Baxi one of Nigeria’s leading super-agent networks, heralding its entry into Nigeria.

Dare Okoudjou, Founder and CEO of MFS Africa, said: “This round of funding marks the beginning of the next phase in our growth. We greatly appreciate the renewed and continued confidence in us by our longstanding investors LUN Partners, Goodwell Investments, ShoreCap III and others. We are also delighted to welcome our new investors AfricInvest, CommerzVentures, Endeavor Catalyst and Endeavor Harvest on board. This new fundraising round further demonstrates our commitment and the scale of our ambitions. For our clients across Africa and beyond, this is also a validation of the choice they have made to partner with us in building a network of networks that make instant cross-border payments as simple as making a phone call. We look forward to continuing to work with them to expand and deepen that network in the years to come.”

Discussing the investment, Julius Tichelaar, Partner at AfricInvest FIVE said: “MFS Africa provides broad access to a large range of payment services for individuals and companies on the African continent, including remittance and trade-related financial services. This resonates well with AfricInvest FIVE’s financial inclusion strategy. Cross-border payments remain an important challenge in many African markets today and MFS Africa is uniquely positioned to confront this. We are excited to join MFS Africa’s world-class management team on its mission and to support its growth journey”.

Wim van der Beek, Managing Partner at Goodwell Investments says: “We made our first investment in MFS Africa four years ago, and throughout this time their team have consistently delivered on their plans. Over the years they have built a powerful platform, a strong network of partners and a world-class passionate and diverse organisation. We are delighted to co-lead their Series-C round together with AfricInvest FIVE. We look forward to continuing to support MFS Africa in their next stage of growth, delivering on their vision to deliver affordable payments and other financial services across Africa and beyond.”

Peilung Li, Chairman of LUN Partners Group, added, “We are very proud to be a partner to Dare and MFS Africa and have continuously supported the Company through multiple rounds of investment since we led the Series-B round. We have also been working closely with MFS Africa to build cross-border payment gateways between Africa and China and have supported the Company through several transformative M&A transactions. I am excited to see MFS Africa continue to build its financial ecosystem and in becoming a dominant player in the region.”

Today, MFS Africa connects over 320 million mobile money wallets. Through its network of over 180 mobile money schemes, banks, money transfer operators, and over 250 global enterprises, millions of Africans can exchange value with each other and the world.