Peach Payments, a South African fintech business run by Cape Town entrepreneur Rahul Jain, has announced the purchase of client software development firm Operativa. The move follows a $31 million investment round led by Apis Growth Fund II last year.
The purchase will see Operativa’s whole staff integrated into Peach Payments, with Co-Founders Dayne Olivier and Ben Janecke taking on Principal Engineer roles. Since 2022, the duo has played an important role in the development and maintenance of Peach Payments systems. The deal is scheduled to be finalized by August.
Peach Payments acknowledged the Operativa team’s contributions, stating, “The pair and their team have been instrumental in building the technical architecture that has paved the way for Peach Payments’ rapid expansion, including integrating additional payment methods such as Apple Pay and onboarding new merchants and banking partners.”
Olivier voiced his delight over the deal, saying, “We believe that the company has what it takes to become Africa’s undisputed payments leader.” “We see this acquisition as a call-up to the winning team.”
Janecke reiterated this sentiment, citing their close relationship with Peach Payments as a major factor in their decision to sell Operativa. “Our collaboration with Peach Payments has been fruitful, and we are confident that as an integrated entity, we’ll achieve even more,” he told me.
Peach Payments, founded in 2009 by Rahul Jain and Andreas Demleitner, set out to revolutionize online payments in South Africa. The startup, founded in Cape Town in 2012, participated in the Google Umbono accelerator, concentrating on fixing challenges for online sellers.
Peach Payments has grown significantly under the leadership of Jain and Demleitner, with revenue increasing by more than 650 percent since 2020, including an 80 percent increase in 2022 alone. In 2023, the firm raised $31 million in a Series A fundraising round, with aspirations to expand into Africa and improve its product portfolio.
Industry watchers are interested in how this acquisition may affect Africa’s digital payments ecosystem. With the purchase of Operativa, Peach Payments is positioned to strengthen its position as the continent’s largest fintech player.
