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The Hong-Kong based company is leading a group investing $48 million in Ozow’s fourth round of funding that will help the seven year-old startup expand in Africa and add employees, Ozow’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Pays said in an interview. He didn’t disclose its latest valuation.

“We started engaging with Tencent in March and they understand the scale and opportunity there would be for a company like ours,” Pays said. Ozow plans to use the funds to hunt for acquisitions as well as start services in Namibia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, he said.

Photo courtesy of Olumide Bamgbelu.