Apis Growth Fund I, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, a UK-based asset manager, will have fully exited its position in South African merchant acquirer Adumo following Adumo’s acquisition by South African FinTech Lesaka Technologies, announced yesterday.
Formed 10 years ago, Apis aimed to achieve superior returns and create positive societal impact, recently highlighted by their recognition in the ImpactAssets 50 database.
Adumo, established in 2019 with investments from the Fund and Crossfin Holdings, catalysed the merger of three premium payments businesses—Sureswipe, Ikhokha, and Innervation—creating a robust platform. Adumo now serves about 70,000 active clients and processes roughly R80bn transactions annually. Post-acquisition, Lesaka’s ecosystem will likely encompass 1.7m active clients and over R250bn in annual throughput.
The collaboration between Apis, Crossfin, and Adumo has significantly advanced financial inclusion and sustainable economic growth across Africa. Since the Fund’s investment, Adumo has been pivotal in bridging the payment acceptance gap in South Africa, enhancing digital and mobile transactions, which in turn increased customer retention and footfall.
Apis has been crucial in value creation at Adumo, facilitating multiple acquisitions, including GAAP and Wirecard South Africa, which expanded Adumo’s geographic reach. The Apis team also supported major capital raises, securing significant funding from the IFC to accelerate Adumo’s growth.
Matteo Stefanel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Apis Partners, remarked: “It has been a pleasure to work with all at Adumo over the past few years. Our teams’ shared goals of impact creation and increasing financial inclusion are demonstrated by Adumo more than doubling the value of transactions it processes for SMEs in South Africa during the Fund’s holding period. We believe the transition into Lesaka’s ecosystem is a perfect fit for Adumo’s next phase, and we look forward to being a part of it as Lesaka shareholders.”
Udayan Goyal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Apis Partners, added: “We are very pleased to announce the sale of the Fund’s interest in Adumo, which marks a significant achievement for both Apis and Adumo. Adumo was a pioneer in using a verticalisation approach to provide the best in class service to its clients. This transaction underscores Apis’ commitment to identifying and investing in innovative, high-growth opportunities within the financial services and technology sectors.”
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