Risevest, a Nigerian fintech startup for investment has recently acquired Kenyan investment startup, Hisa.
The acquisition which was approved by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA), will allow Risevest to operate in Kenya legally. This acquisition also marks the fintech’s second one in the last year—it acquired Chaka in an undisclosed deal in September 2023.
Following this acquisition, Hisa will continue to operate under its current brand, retaining its existing staff and business practices.
“We like the Hisa name because it resonates well with Kenyans so we have no plans on changing it,” Eke Urum Risevest CEO said in a statement to TechCabal. “We are not planning to make a lot of changes; it is time to understand the company, the culture, the context, and the market that we are coming into.”
Following the acquisition, Eric Jackson, Hisa’s current CEO will become the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and co-founder Erick Asuma will become the Strategy Advisor. Leah Njoroge, a former investment analyst at Kenyan Wall Street and Finance Associate at Hisa, will be Head of Operations. She will report to Urum, who will now oversee Hisa as part of his group of acquired startups.
For now, no major details of the deal have been disclosed, and no major company changes are expected, there may also be plans to hire additional leaders to support the team amidst the acquisition, Risevest has stated that it plans to use this time to understand the company, culture, context, and market it is entering.
The acquisition could enable Risevest to tap into Kenya’s digital investment market, which is projected to reach a value of $2.776 billion in 2024. Hisa’s co-founder Asuma reportedly stated that the acquisition aligns with the company’s vision to promote investment opportunities in Africa.
“This move widens Hisa’s reach enabling a significant technology upgrade. We are grateful to our early investors who believed in and supported our journey—this milestone is as much theirs as it is ours,” he noted.
