Acumen Fund Invests in Paga to Scale Money Transfer Service across Nigeria

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Paga’s mission is to deliver innovative and universal access to financial services for all Nigerians. The company plays a critical role in enabling a cashless Nigeria and delivering access to finance to the over 80% of Nigerians that are un-banked or under-banked. The company uses a multi-stakeholder approach. Paga is available on all mobile networks and is delivered to customers in collaboration with strong local banks (including microfinance institutions), retailers and various other private and public sector organisations.

Paga enables any person with a mobile phone or Internet access to send cash to anyone in Nigeria, buy or send airtime credit, pay bills, pay both online and physical retail stores (without cash notes or a debit card), and perform a variety of other transactions. Individuals can also perform these transactions in their communities by visiting any agent in Paga’s growing network, comprising of more than 850 agents currently located in 19 cities.

Commenting on the purpose of the investment, Paga’s founder & CEO, Tayo Oviosu said “The business opportunity for Paga is huge, and it follows that the capital requirement to achieve our mission is also significant. A key requirement for success in our industry is having investors who share our vision and have the financial fortitude for such an undertaking. To date, we have been funded by individual investors and Goodwell. We are humbled by the interest we continue to receive from both local and international institutional investors. This investment will enable Paga to scale our operations across Nigeria and allow us to build upon our front-runner position. We have carefully chosen our investors for their track record and the immense value they will bring towards accomplishing our mission.”

Source: Acumen Fund Blog (link opens in a new window)

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