Brazilian fintech Ebanx said on Tuesday that it is now available in Africa, where it will try to replicate its rapid growth in Latin America, putting greater emphasis on its digital payments sector.
The company launched operations in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria at the end of August, amid growing demand for payments via mobile phones in recent years.
“(These countries) represent more than 50% of the continent’s GDP, a third of Africa’s population, and are seeing an explosion in the adoption of digital services,” Paula Bellizia, president of global payments at Ebanx, told Reuters.
Ebanx, which started offering digital wallets to Brazilian consumers in 2020, will initially focus on mobile money, a system that allows users to exchange and store funds on their mobile phones, Bellizia said.
“In Latin America, digital commerce ended up accelerating digital payment. In Africa, digital payments will take advantage of digital commerce,” she said.
“There is an e-commerce trend in Africa in the same way that it happened in Latin America eight years ago,” he added.
The startup valued at more than US$ 1,000 million also plans to reach agreements with the main e-commerce stores to provide payment services in the continent. Without revealing names, Bellizia said that Ebanx will focus on partnerships with global merchants.
In Latin America, it processes payments for Airbnb, Shopee, and Uber.
“As far as our expansion plan is concerned, Africa has become our new priority. It is a huge continent, with millions of people becoming consumers,” she said.
Bellizia said that Ebanx, which earlier this year delayed its initial public offering, continues to analyze “market conditions” to take that step.
