Rise, a fintech company based in Nigeria that provides its clients with access to specific international assets, has completed the acquisition of Hisa, a startup in Kenya.
Eke Urum, CEO of Rise confirmed the acquisition in a statement seen by Newsng on Thursday.
Rise may now operate in Kenya without requiring any new licenses thanks to this transaction, which was just approved by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority.
Eric Asuma founded Hisa in 2020, and at a post-money valuation of US$5 million, he obtained US$250,000 in pre-seed capital from angel investors, including Faida Investment Bank, Estonia-based VC Startup Wise Guys, and Chipper Cash Founders Ham Serunjogi and Majid Moujaled.
Conversely, Rise was established in 2020 by Eke Urum with backing from Techstars and Ventures Platform, and it has amassed 600,000 members since then. It also purchased Chaka, a different digital trading firm, in September 2023.
Urum said the company has no immediate plans to alter Hisa’s structure. “We see value in understanding the company’s dynamics and culture before making any changes,” Urum commented.
Newsng gathered that continued operations indicate that Hisa, a well-known corporation in the Kenyan stock trading sector, would keep its complete staff and brand identification.
“This acquisition aligns perfectly with our shared vision of broadening investment opportunities for Africans.
“This move not only widens Hisa’s reach but will enable significant technology upgrades.
“We are grateful to our early investors who believed in and supported our journey—this milestone is as much theirs as it is ours.” – Eric Asuma, Co-founder of Hisa.
Eric Jackson, the former CEO of Hisa, will now serve as the company’s chief technology officer (CTO), and Leah Njoroge, a finance associate, will lead operations.
We earlier reported that Confluent, a streaming data and Kafka specialist announced the acquisition of WarpStream, a streaming data solution that is Kafka-compatible.
