ADVERTISEMENT
Thursday, February 2, 2023
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Involve Africa
  • Home
  • All African News
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Entertainment News
    • Travel
    • Tourism
    • Arts
  • Finance
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All African News
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Entertainment News
    • Travel
    • Tourism
    • Arts
  • Finance
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
No Result
View All Result
Involve Africa
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Technology

MFS Africa’s takeover of GTP – a milestone for African tech

Involve Africa by Involve Africa
June 16, 2022
in Technology
0
MFS Africa’s takeover of GTP – a milestone for African tech
585
SHARES
3.2k
VIEWS
https://web.facebook.com/involveafricanews?_rdc=1&https://twitter.com/involveafricanews


In a rare and exciting acquisition of a US tech company by an Africa-based firm, digital payments network MFS Africa announced this month that it will acquire Oklahoma-based Global Technology Partners (GTP), a processor of prepaid cards in Africa which works with over 80 banks in 34 African countries.

African Business talks to Filip Nilsson, MFS Africa’s Director of Corporate Development, about what the transaction means for MFS Africa and the continent’s integration into the global ecommerce ecosystem.

You might also like

Ground Breakers: Billionaire mining boss Robert Friedland calls for end of African discount in epic copper rant

Support for land use planning sees over 2000 women farmers in Tanzania become land owners

African Development Bank provides funding for Diamniadio Digital Technology Park

How did the acquisition of GTP come about and what is the significance of the deal for MFS Africa?  

If we go back to what MFS is all about, it’s to make borders matter less when it comes to payments to and from Africa. We believe that access to financial services is a strong value proposition for people and businesses on the continent – they have payments problems that we want to solve.  

You’re able to send money in a mobile wallet from Rwanda to Uganda, but what if you want to buy something online, how do you do that?  

Either you make the merchants accept mobile money as a payment method, and you have to go out and convince the global merchants to accept new payment methods. That’s one way, but it’s been tried and it’s not been very successful – there are so many mobile money payment methods and you can’t fit them all on a website.  

The other way you solve it is on the issuing side, so you give a card to every mobile money user and thereby make them participate in the ecommerce ecosystem.  

We tried the merchant side first, it’s difficult, we’re doing it for some large entities such as Spotify and so on – depending on where the user is they have specific payment methods – but it’s not the most scalable way.  

So we’ve looked at it from the other side – we became the first non-bank institution in Africa to get a principle membership as part of Visa.

We have been building out our capability to issue and process cards for mobile money users. We want to connect mobile money users with the card ecosystem. In doing that project over the past year and a half, we started working with GTP as a processor.

We didn’t have that part in the stack – the actual integration into Visa and managing the balances on the cards. So we started working with GTP commercially and we got to know them on those projects.

We were impressed by them as a team, impressed by their technology and the relationships they have across the African bank sector, where they are working with all the top bank brands across many markets.

Their footprint is pretty close to ours, they’re in 34 countries and we are in around 37 so it’s almost a 100% match. It clicked in all the dimensions, and there was discussion around making an investment into GTP. That then evolved to become a takeover, a complete acquisition and absorption into MFS Africa.  

GTP are particularly strong in prepaid cards – will this be a focus area for you?

On prepaid cards you load the card by moving funds from a bank account, as opposed to a debit card payment which goes straight to the bank account. The user experience is slightly different, and while GTP is very strong in prepaid, we are also now moving out with a debit card feature which we believe is an attractive proposition for a lot of operators, so that the mobile money users don’t have to do a step before he or she can use it.

GTP’s reputation comes from the prepaid side, and that’s where they’ve excelled historically, and now they’re introducing the next generation which is debit cards.  

What new opportunities will there be for MFS Africa in the US market? 

We’re thinking more in terms of sourcing transactions, talking to and winning deals with large American merchants – the global brands out of the US – we’ll be closer to them. It would be more commercial synergies we are looking for. There could also be an angle of talent acquisition and finding really good people on the merchant processing side.  

What are the next steps after this acquisition? 

We want to continue to invest in GTP and the offering they have, to make it a complete card processor. To expand the offering and go deeper into existing bank offerings – connecting the MFS Africa Hub, which is about cross-border interconnectivity, to the backend of GTP’s cards, as well as addressing fintechs and mobile wallet operators with the debit card proposition.  

And we want to grow the team closer to the customer base. That’s how we plan to invest in GTP over the next year or so. Last year we acquired BAXI in Nigeria, an agent network, and we’re investing quite a bit into that. When we look at the next 12-24 months it will be consolidating what we’ve done and achieving synergies in the acquisitions that we’ve made. 

Could we begin to see more African tech firms acquire US firms? 

I hope so. I think it was a fairly unique opportunity given that GTP are based out of the US and that’s where the staff is (in Oklahoma), however their business is in Africa. There are not too many companies like that. But I think indeed it would be very exciting for this trend to continue. Let’s see how it goes.

To keep up with the latest in African tech, subscribe to Tech54

The interview on this page first appeared in Tech54, the African Business newsletter that takes an incisive look at the continent’s tech scene. Subscribe to the newsletter here.



Source_link

Previous Post

Caring for your crop during the first 40 days

Next Post

WooCommerce Websites: Our Case Studies

Involve Africa

Involve Africa

Related Posts

Ground Breakers: Billionaire mining boss Robert Friedland calls for end of African discount in epic copper rant
Technology

Ground Breakers: Billionaire mining boss Robert Friedland calls for end of African discount in epic copper rant

by Involve Africa
February 2, 2023
Support for land use planning sees over 2000 women farmers in Tanzania become land owners
Technology

Support for land use planning sees over 2000 women farmers in Tanzania become land owners

by Involve Africa
February 1, 2023
African Development Bank provides funding for Diamniadio Digital Technology Park
Technology

African Development Bank provides funding for Diamniadio Digital Technology Park

by Involve Africa
February 1, 2023
This AWS-powered startup gives Rwandan cancer patients better access to life-saving treatments
Technology

This AWS-powered startup gives Rwandan cancer patients better access to life-saving treatments

by Involve Africa
February 1, 2023
Clemson Leads ACC with 29 All-ACC Academic Team Selections for 2022 – Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site
Technology

Clemson Leads ACC with 29 All-ACC Academic Team Selections for 2022 – Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site

by Involve Africa
January 31, 2023
Next Post
Luxury BnB Magazine

WooCommerce Websites: Our Case Studies

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Concert for social justice to feature Brubeck Trio, world premieres from UCLA faculty

Concert for social justice to feature Brubeck Trio, world premieres from UCLA faculty

January 12, 2023
Up to 40% off Advent Calendars + Exclusive Extra 10% off!

Up to 40% off Advent Calendars + Exclusive Extra 10% off!

November 11, 2022

Categories

  • All African News
  • Arts
  • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
  • Entertainment News
  • Finance
  • Food & Agriculture
  • News Videos
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Tourism
  • Travel

Don't miss it

African Development Fund helps create thousands of jobs for youth in Malawi | African Development Bank
Food & Agriculture

African Development Fund helps create thousands of jobs for youth in Malawi | African Development Bank

February 2, 2023
Ethiopia: a border town ravaged by the Tigray conflict | DW News
News Videos

Ethiopia: a border town ravaged by the Tigray conflict | DW News

February 2, 2023
A newbie’s safety guide to solo travel
Tourism

A newbie’s safety guide to solo travel

February 2, 2023
Univeristies and excellence in default — Opinion — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News
Arts

Univeristies and excellence in default — Opinion — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

February 2, 2023
Nigeria: Govt Replies El-Rufai, Says Buhari Not Working for or Against Any Presidential Candidate
Politics

Nigeria: Govt Replies El-Rufai, Says Buhari Not Working for or Against Any Presidential Candidate

February 2, 2023
Ground Breakers: Billionaire mining boss Robert Friedland calls for end of African discount in epic copper rant
Technology

Ground Breakers: Billionaire mining boss Robert Friedland calls for end of African discount in epic copper rant

February 2, 2023

Social Bar

Welcome to involve Africa The goal of involve Africa is to give you the absolute best news sources for any topic! Our topics are carefully curated and constantly updated as we know the web moves fast so we try to as well.

Categories

  • All African News
  • Arts
  • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment
  • Entertainment News
  • Finance
  • Food & Agriculture
  • News Videos
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Tourism
  • Travel

Site Links

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Recent News

African Development Fund helps create thousands of jobs for youth in Malawi | African Development Bank

African Development Fund helps create thousands of jobs for youth in Malawi | African Development Bank

February 2, 2023
Ethiopia: a border town ravaged by the Tigray conflict | DW News

Ethiopia: a border town ravaged by the Tigray conflict | DW News

February 2, 2023

INVOLVEAFRICA.COM

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All African News
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Entertainment News
    • Travel
    • Tourism
    • Arts
  • Finance
    • Food & Agriculture
    • Business & Economy
  • Crypto News
  • Energy & Environment

INVOLVEAFRICA.COM

What Are Cookies
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT