TA Associate’s stake acquisition in Interswitch to boost payment

A global growth private equity firm- TA Associates, has acquired a minority interest in Interswitch, an Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce company.

The transaction was effected through an acquisition of interests from Helios Investment Partners- the majority shareholder of Interswitch, although the financial terms were not disclosed.

This is expected to boost digital payments revolution, which is still is in the early stages of development in Nigeria, with 99 per cent of transactions done in cash, according to McKinsey & Company report.

Interswitch is active across the entire payments value chain, owns and operates the country’s principal domestic debit card scheme, Verve, as well as serves as a third-party transaction processor for many of Nigeria’s largest banks.

It also offers a number of electronic payment services to public and private sector organisations and businesses, including government entities, hospitals, telecommunications companies and utilities.

Founder and Managing Director at Interswitch Limited Mitchell Elegbe, said: “Since our founding, we have been committed to creating social, environmental and economic value by facilitating trade through forms of exchange that are secure, convenient and consistent.

“Keeping that in mind, we believe a partnership with an experienced payments investor such as TA Associates will prove highly beneficial to our ongoing efforts of consolidating the impact of our services and increasing financial inclusion for all.

For the Managing Director of TA Associates, Naveen Wadhera, who will now join the Interswitch board, “Interswitch is a unique and high quality asset located in one of Africa’s leading economies. We are delighted to expand upon our longstanding presence within the global payments.

“By strategically partnering and aligning its interests with key banks, merchants and other institutions, Interswitch has become a leading provider for payments solutions in an emerging and rapidly growing market in Nigeria.”

Helios’s co-founder and Managing Partner, Babatunde Soyoye, said: “For TA Associates to have partnered with us on Interswitch as their first investment into Africa, given the current market context, is a testament to Interswitch’s successful growth trajectory to date, and the quality and resilience of its brand and business model.

A Partner at Helios Investment, Alykhan Nathoo, added: “With our investment in Interswitch in 2011, we backed a talented founder and management team, and have worked hand-in-hand with them to institutionalise the business and build the platform, spearheading growth not only in their core processing and card scheme businesses but also into mobile payments.

“As the majority investor in Interswitch, we look forward to working with the company’s first-rate management team and TA Associates to drive the next phase of the company’s growth.”

However, another Managing Partner at TA Associates, Ajit Nedungadi, said: “We strongly believe in the global trend towards payment digitalization. Given Interswitch’s impressive reach into Nigeria’s payment ecosystem, we expect a continuation of the company’s impressive growth and are honored to have the opportunity to partner with what we believe to be a fantastic management team and a leading African investor,”