South African digital payments gateway Peach Payments has made a significant move into Francophone Africa, acquiring Dakar-based payment platform PayDunya in a deal announced this week. The acquisition marks Peach Payments’ first foray into mainland Francophone Africa, signaling an intensifying battle for dominance in the region’s burgeoning digital payments market.
Peach Payments, already established in South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, and most recently Eswatini, provides online payment solutions for businesses across the continent. The acquisition of PayDunya unlocks access to the eight member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) — Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo — with potential future expansion into the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) region.
PayDunya, founded in 2015 by Senegalese entrepreneur Aziz Yérima and his co-founders, emerged from a practical need. Yérima, while assisting a women’s community group with its online expansion in 2013, identified a lack of suitable online payment integration options. This led to the development of PayDunya, a platform that facilitates a range of payment functionalities, including website and mobile app payments, as well as bulk payment collection and disbursement.
Operating across six West African nations — Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Mali — PayDunya has built a solid reputation, processing payments for notable clients such as Jeune Afrique, VFS Global, and Dubai Port Dakar. The company, which started with a modest €20,000 in bootstrap financing, has grown into a profitable enterprise employing over 40 people, serving more than 4,000 business clients, and processing approximately 70,000 transactions daily.
For Peach Payments, the acquisition represents a strategic expansion into a high-growth market. Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments, emphasized the significance of the deal, stating, “By integrating PayDunya, we are expanding our footprint into the UEMOA and CEMAC regions, unlocking new opportunities for merchants who can now partner with us and access over 450 million people across the markets we operate in.”
Aziz Yérima, CEO of PayDunya and president of the Senegalese fintech association SEN FINTECH, echoed this sentiment. “This acquisition marks a significant milestone for PayDunya as it enables us to make our expansion dreams to reach and enhance the value we bring to businesses across Francophone and Anglophone Africa come true.” He further highlighted the immense potential of the UEMOA and CEMAC regions, driven by increasing smartphone penetration and the adoption of mobile money services.
The move comes at a time when the West African e-commerce market is experiencing substantial growth. According to Statista, revenue in the region is projected to reach US$15.33 billion by 2029, with a significant increase in user penetration. This presents a considerable opportunity for payment aggregators like Peach Payments and PayDunya.
This acquisition is the third for Peach Payments since securing a €29 million funding round in late 2023. Previous acquisitions focused on in-store payment technology and customer software development, indicating a broader strategy to strengthen its overall service offering and technological capabilities.
The acquisition of PayDunya underscores the increasing competition within Africa’s digital payments landscape, particularly in the historically underserved Francophone markets. While Anglophone Africa, led by powerhouses like Nigeria and South Africa, has seen significant fintech innovation and investment, the Francophone region is now attracting considerable attention. This deal positions Peach Payments as a key player in this evolving market, challenging existing players and potentially paving the way for further consolidation as the battle for market share intensifies. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the coming months, subject to standard closing procedures.