Development Partners International (“DPI”) is a leading Pan-African private equity firm, with strong local knowledge and an established track record of investing in Africa.   DPI was established in 2007 by co-founders Miles Morland and Runa Alam, both pioneers of African investment, with a vision to build a leading pan-African private equity firm. Today, DPI manages over US$1.1bn of assets across two private equity funds. Through its world class team with over 100 years of aggregate African investment experience, DPI has invested in 19 portfolio companies operating across 27 countries. The investment team is 100% African and over 40% of the DPI team is made up of women. They possess the local network, knowledge and language skills to source and invest in transactions throughout the continent.

Development Partners International

Fireball Capital operates as a venture capital firm.

Fireball Capital

Ukheshe Technologies

Ukheshe Technologies is a global, digital-first financial services enabler. The comppany provides an SMME focused digital platform to improve and address financial inclusion within South Africa. Through our technology, and by partnering with banks, telcos, financial services providers, we enable them to pursue financial inclusion for their customers with tailor made payment solutions. Ukheshe Technologies was established in 2018 by Jason Penton and Paul Carter-Brown in Johannesburg, NA - South Africa.

Ukheshe is a renowned fintech enabler specializing in Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Embedded Financial Services. Founded in 2018, the company collaborates with leading banks, fintechs, telcos, and financial service providers to facilitate financial inclusion for end-users through tailor-made payment solutions.

Digital Banking & Payment Services

South African fintech Ukheshe secures full ownership of EFTCorp in another acquisition

SA’s Ukheshe International Acquires EFT Corporation

SA’s Ukheshe partners Diamond Trust Bank to deliver BaaS in East Africa

South African Payment App, Ukheshe, Embraces Crypto for Seamless Transactions"

Ukheshe and Komuniti Partner to Transform Digital Banking Accessibility

Empowering Africa's Digital Payment Landscape: Ukheshe's Strategic Acquisition of EFTCorp

Fintech enabler Ukheshe International secures Series A funding from DPI and Fireball Capital

Design Quarter

Ukheshe, Diamond Trust Bank provide BaaS in East Africa

Ukheshe, Komuniti SA collaborate to make digital banking services

Digital Wallets

Ukheshe

South Africa’s Ukheshe Technologies Joins Forces with AWS

Ukheshe is a renowned fintech enabler specializing in Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Embedded Financial Services. Founded in 2018, the company collaborates with leading banks, fintechs, telcos, and financial service providers to facilitate financial inclusion for end-users through tailor-made payment solutions.
Ukheshe's flagship offering is Eclipse, an API-First, cloud-native orchestration platform comprising over 150 RESTful endpoints. This powerful platform provides a comprehensive suite of financial services, including Digital Onboarding, Digital Wallets, Issuing, and Payment Processing. Ukheshe's platform assists partner integrations and ensures a safe, scalable, and PCI-compliant environment for customers to leverage their offerings.
In 2024, Ukheshe solidified its position in the African market by acquiring EFTCorp, a payment solutions provider serving approximately 35 African markets and over 100 banks. This strategic acquisition combined Ukheshe's expertise in digital wallets, digital onboarding, KYC, and payment channels with EFTCorp's established presence, enabling Ukheshe to offer cutting-edge digital services to EFTCorp's traditional client base.
Ukheshe has continually innovated, rebranding its previously acquired Masterpass as Scan to Pay in 2023 to facilitate QR code transactions. Notably, the Scan to Pay platform now accepts cryptocurrency payments, demonstrating Ukheshe's commitment to staying ahead of digital payment trends.

Dwolla is a leading provider of payment services specializing in account-to-account (A2A) payments. The company offers an innovative API solution called Dwolla Connect, designed for mid to enterprise-sized businesses. Dwolla Connect simplifies the process of replacing legacy, batch-based technology with modern infrastructure, enhancing the management and reconciliation of payments across multiple financial institutions. With Connect's bank-agnostic approach, businesses can leverage their existing commercial accounts at top US banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo, to effortlessly initiate payments by embedding Dwolla's API into their existing applications and payment flows.
Dwolla Connect serves a wide range of industries, such as financial services, lending, banking-as-a-service, marketplaces, and insurance, among others. Its API-first approach enables businesses to effortlessly integrate A2A payments into their apps or connect with existing ERP/cash management systems, offering a centralized location for payment information. Dwolla Connect provides substantial time and cost savings by allowing businesses to embed a single API, avoiding multiple bank integrations and simplifying their treasury management.
Over the years, Dwolla has expanded its offerings, introducing products like Dwolla Balance, a digital wallet solution, and exploring new payment methods and value-added services. The company has partnered with industry leaders like MX, a leader in open finance APIs, and Mastercard to enhance its payment capabilities and offer consumers more choice in managing their money.

Dwolla

Papaya is a SaaS fintech company that provides global payroll and payments technology through its comprehensive platform called Papaya Payroll OS. The platform automates payroll processes, ensures compliance, offers flexibility, and provides robust security features. Papaya's integrated approach connects data and processes from various HR and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, creating a single source of truth. This turns payroll, a company's biggest expense and liability, into a strategic asset that enables growth at scale.
One of Papaya's key offerings is a personal portal that empowers employees with convenient access to their payroll financial information. In March 2023, the company introduced a mobile app as part of this portal, allowing employees to securely view and manage their payslips, work-related documents, and bank account details on the go. This app caters to the growing trend of employees accessing payroll information via mobile devices, with 53% of employees doing so as of March 2023.
Papaya's technology has been recognized by leading global analysts for its disruptive approach in workforce management and payments. The company has received accolades such as being included in the Forbes Cloud 100 and CNBC's Top Startups for the Enterprise.

Papaya

Citcon is a leading global payment gateway and service provider, offering innovative solutions that enable businesses to accept payments from consumers using various mobile wallets, payment apps, and methods. The company's technology empowers merchants to expand their customer base and streamline the payment process, enhancing the overall shopping experience. Citcon's platform allows merchants to securely process millions of payment transactions daily from over 200 payment methods, including popular digital wallets like Alipay, WeChat Pay, PayPal, and Venmo.
Founded in 2015, Citcon pioneered as the first authorized US merchant acquirer for WeChat Pay and Alipay, two of the most widely used mobile wallet providers in China. Over the years, the company has expanded its partnerships to include more than 20 global wallet providers, reaching over 2 billion mobile wallet users worldwide. Citcon's technology integrates seamlessly with various point-of-sale (POS) and ecommerce systems, making it accessible to merchants across diverse industries.
Citcon's solutions cater to the needs of businesses of all sizes, from Fortune 1000 companies like L'Oréal, Hermes, and Nordstrom to major retailers such as Macy's, Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Revolve. Its platform is deployed at over 30,000 merchant sites and locations globally.
In October 2021, Citcon closed a USD 30 million Series C funding round, backed by leading global investors such as Norwest Venture Partners, Cota Capital, Sierra Ventures, Sonae, and East-West Bank. The company has expanded its presence with regional offices in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia to serve its global clientele better.
Citcon has also diversified its offerings to include cryptocurrency payments. In May 2021, the company partnered with Flexa, a leading pure-digital payments network, enabling merchants worldwide to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin as payment options.

Citcon

PayNearMe is a leading bill payment platform provider that enables unbanked consumers to make cash payments for various services. The company's technology generates a barcode that consumers can take to participating merchant locations within their vicinity. At the store, customers scan the barcode, provide cash to the cashier, and receive a receipt confirming the payment. This innovative solution solves the challenge of accepting cash payments in an increasingly digital world.
PayNearMe's platform supports multiple payment methods, including cash, credit/debit cards, and bank accounts. The company has built an extensive merchant network of over 40,000 retail locations across the US, including partnerships with major chains like Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Walmart, and Family Dollar Stores. By March 2022, PayNearMe had expanded its network by nearly 50% over the previous 12 months, with the addition of nearly 9,000 Walgreens and Duane Reade locations.
PayNearMe offers a seamless payment experience for customers while enabling businesses to increase foot traffic and potential incremental sales. The company focuses on partnering with convenience stores, dollar stores, grocers, and pharmacies, as these merchant categories align well with their business model.

PayNearMe

Paydiant was a company that provided a cloud-based white-label mobile wallet platform enabling merchants and banks to deploy their own secure mobile wallet solutions under their brand names. Its patented technology allowed merchants to integrate mobile wallet functionality, including mobile payments, loyalty programs, offers, and e-receipts within their existing mobile apps.
The platform assisted merchants in acquiring new customers and increasing sales by delivering targeted offers and personalized loyalty programs directly to consumer mobile devices. Payment credentials were never stored on users' phones but instead securely held in a PCI-compliant data center, enhancing transaction security.
Paydiant's flexible platform supported various payment instruments like debit, credit, gift, and private-label cards while providing valuable insights into customer spending behavior. It facilitated seamless integration with existing point-of-sale systems across popular smartphone models, eliminating hardware upgrade requirements. The company's technology was compatible with emerging standards like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
In March 2015, Paydiant was acquired by PayPal to bolster the latter's in-store mobile payment capabilities and enable merchant partners to build branded mobile wallets integrated with PayPal's services.

Paydiant

These enable users to utilize their wallets for various transactions at virtually any merchant that accepts digital wallet payments without any restrictions on usage.

These enable users to carry out transactions at a selected list of merchants and locations. Merchants may need to set up predefined agreements with digital wallet issuers to accept payments from the wallet.

These are typically developed by merchants themselves and allow customers to use their wallets to make payments at the merchants’ own stores. Users are unable to use these wallets for transactions outside the issuing merchant.

Companies that offer white-label solutions for businesses and fintechs to set up their own digital wallet offering.

Leverages AI/ML to conduct various AML/KYC checks on customers and transactions processed through digital wallets

Ukheshe

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