Brass co-founders exit as fintech gets acquired by Paystack-led consortium

Nigerian fintech startup Brass has been acquired by an investment group led by Paystack, with participation from PiggyVest, Ventures Platform, P1 Ventures and angel investors Oo Nwoye and Olumide Soyombo, for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition brings together several key players in the Nigerian fintech space, underscoring the continued wave of consolidation in the industry.

“Each member of the investment group brings several years’ worth of experience financing and building reliable financial service products, and together with a new infusion of capital,” said Amandine Lobelle, COO at Paystack. “We’re excited for Brass’ next stage of growth.”

Following the acquisition, Brass will continue to build and support its customers and grow with a new leadership team. The founding leadership team, including co-founders CEO Sola Akindolu and CTO Emmanuel Okeke, will leave the startup. “The work of making entrepreneurship permission-less is far from finished, and we definitely look forward to what’s next from the new team,” Akindolu said in a statement seen by Bendada.com.

While the specific impact of the acquisition on Brass’s product offerings and customer base remains unclear, the involvement of prominent fintech players like Paystack and PiggyVest suggests a potential focus on streamlining financial services for Nigerian entrepreneurs. This could involve integrating Brass’s existing product suite –  credit and payment processing, payroll, expense management, and business banking services –  with Paystack’s robust payment infrastructure and PiggyVest’s strong savings and investment offerings.

Notably, this acquisition comes two months after Brass announced that it finally resolved transaction delays that plagued the platform since late 2023. Akindolu attributed the delays to a limited number of businesses (80) and challenging economic conditions. Still, in March, the fintech startup said it temporarily discharged a few of its employees to restructure its operations to adapt to the current economic climate.

Launched in 2020, Brass caters to small and medium-sized businesses with a comprehensive suite of financial tools. This includes credit and payment processing, payroll and expense management, API access, cash flow analysis, team and client management features, and core business services like point-of-sale systems, debit cards, and credit cards—all integrated within a dedicated business bank account.

Brass serves over 5,000 customers; from educational institutions and shopping centres to restaurants and tech startups like Eden and Mono. The fintech startup has raised at least $2 million in funding, Ezra Olubi, co-founder and CTO of Paystack invested in one of the rounds.

This is a developing story