Nigerian fintech Rise enters Kenya, acquires local investment start-up Hisa

Nigerian investment financial technology (fintech) start-up Rise has acquired Kenya’s Hisa as it enters the East African market.

Rise is a stock investment venture aimed at connecting users to stocks or securities in the US dollar denomination globally. Hisa aims to create borderless investments for Africans in local and global like stocks, ETFs, bonds and alternative investments.

The acquisition was green-lit by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and Hisa will retain its brand and operations, including its staff, TechCabal reports.

The Nigerian technology outlet on Wednesday quoted Rise CEO Eke Urum as saying they have no plans of changing Hisa’s name post the acquisition.

“…It resonates well with Kenyans so we have no plans on changing it… We are not planning to make a lot of changes; it is time to understand the company, the culture, the context, and the market that we are coming into,” Urum, who co-founded the start-up with Bosun Olanrewaju and Tony Odiba in 2019, was reported saying.

Hisa was co-founded in 2020 by Eric Jackson and the founder of the digital business outlet Kenya Wall Street, Eric Asuma. The start-up raised $250,000 in pre-seed funding and was valued at $5 million post-money.

Jackson now becomes Hisa’s chief technology officer (CTO). He previously held that role before Asuma stepped down. 

Asuma will be a strategy advisor at the start-up following the acquisition. 

This is Rise’s second acquisition in the past year; in September 2023, the venture acquired the Nigerian digital trading platform Chaka for an undisclosed amount.

The company says it has over 620,000 users on its platform across Rise and Chaka.

Data from Statista indicates that Kenya’s digital investment market is projected to hit a total transaction value of $2,776 million in 2024, pointing to a significant growth potential for the market segment.