Economy
KPay Secures Record USD55 Million, Marking 2024’s Largest Series A Fundraise Globally in the Payments Sector
KPay strengthens its position as the leading regional platform for merchants to simplify financial management and streamline business operations. The investment by Apis Growth Markets Fund III and Apis Global Growth Fund III will accelerate KPay’s trajectory to support one million merchants across Asia in the next five years
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 3 December 2024 – KPay Group (KPay), a one-stop financial management and business operations platform, today announced the successful completion of its first institutional funding round, raising a record USD 55 million, the largest Series A globally in the payments sector in 2024[1].
This landmark investment was led by Apis Growth Markets Fund III and Apis Global Growth Fund III (both of which Apis Partners LLP serves as the portfolio manager for), validating KPay’s strategic vision, market leadership and ambitious growth trajectory. UK-based Apis Partners is an ESG and Impact-native global private equity asset manager which manages or advises on total assets under management of USD 2.3 billion. This investment will not only accelerate KPay’s existing trajectory but also provide the basis for its aggressive expansion plans across Emerging Asia.
With fintech funding in Asia Pacific hitting a six-year low[2] in H1 2024, KPay’s record-breaking Series A stands out as a testament to the company’s execution excellence and opportunity set ahead. The successful funding also demonstrates investors’ appetite to back companies – like KPay – which have a proven playbook to drive expansion across Asia and can do so in a capital efficient manner. Notably, up until this Series A round, the company had yet to raise venture capital funding to deliver growth.
The investment from Apis Partners includes a commitment by KPay to expand its presence across key Asian economies, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and more. KPay will leverage the capital to drive both organic growth and strategic mergers and acquisitions. This partnership aligns closely with the shared vision of Apis and KPay to drive meaningful change, recognizing the critical role of SMEs, which account for 55.8%[3] of total employment in Asia, and in turn acknowledges that supporting SME growth fosters broader economic development and strengthens regional economies.
Founded just over three years ago, KPay has achieved a remarkable 166% revenue CAGR during this period, operating across Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The company has built a one-stop solution to facilitate the financial, operational and digital transformation for merchants of all sizes, and is already serving more than 45,000 merchants in the region. With its open-architecture ecosystem, KPay currently partners with over 150 SaaS providers, banking institutions, and financial services firms and plans to double its partnerships to support even more businesses across Asia in their financial and digital transformation journey.
Davis Chan, Co-founder and CEO of KPay, says, “I am incredibly proud of this financial milestone our team has achieved. We are excited to use this funding to not only expand our existing markets’ SME merchant base, but also broaden our reach into new merchant industry categories, merchants of all sizes, and merchants operating in other underserved markets across Asia. This will bring us closer to our ambitious goal of supporting one million merchants over the next five years”
Christopher Yu, President and CFO of KPay, adds, “Securing this funding gives us financial strength and flexibility to enhance our product innovation, go-to-market speed, customer experience, and operational excellence. All of this is with our merchants in mind, in making it even simpler, smarter, and more cost-effective for them when using KPay’s services. To do this, we need to continue to attract the best partners and global talent to join us, who share the same ambition to work alongside us to achieve the company’s vision and mission.”
Matteo Stefanel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Apis Partners, comments: “We are thrilled to lead this investment in KPay, a unique company demonstrating remarkable growth under the leadership of seasoned third-time founders and an exemplary management team. As one of the most active global fintech investors in growth-stage companies, Apis is eager to bring our domain expertise to support this exciting phase of KPay’s journey. With this combination of both financial strength and execution excellence, we look forward to a long-term partnership with KPay, to support their regional expansion, and spearheading next-gen financial management solutions in Asia’s diverse payments and software sector.”
Udayan Goyal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Apis Partners, adds: “As a financial services-focused investor, we recognise the unique value KPay brings to the market through its commitment to empowering merchants with accessible, impactful financial tools. This investment aligns perfectly with our ESG and Impact mandate to foster sustainable and inclusive growth within the financial sector, promoting the democratisation of finance, embedded finance and the deepening of the digital economy. We look forward to supporting KPay as it scales, helping the company deliver meaningful financial solutions across Asia.”
Hashtag: #KPay #KConnect #KFund #SME #funding #fundraising #privateequity #payin #payout #finance #apispartners
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About KPay Group
KPay Group (“KPay”) is a leading fintech company dedicated to empowering businesses of all sizes with simple, smart, seamless and secure technology solutions. Serving over 45,000 merchants across Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, KPay is building a one-stop platform to support merchants in financial management, business operations and digital transformation across Asia, unlocking new growth potential for businesses. For the latest updates, follow us on 
LinkedIn or visit our website at 
www.kpay-group.com.
About Apis Partners
The Apis Group (“Apis”) is an ESGI-native private equity and venture capital asset manager that supports growth-stage financial services and technology businesses globally by providing them with catalytic growth equity capital. Collectively Apis, through its team of around 40 professionals with deep industry expertise, manages or advises on total AUM of c.US$2.3 billion.
Headquartered in London, Apis has representation in seven countries globally. Apis is highly conscious of the impact that the provision of growth capital for financial services and technology businesses in global markets can achieve, and as such, financial inclusion and financial wellness are core tenets of Apis’ impact investment approach. www.apis.pe
By Adedapo Adesanya
The president of the Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote, met with President Bola Tinubu on Monday to discuss and address concerns about the growing volatility in the global oil market and its impact on Nigerians.
Petrol prices have jumped to as high as N1,400 per litre amid the continuous rise in prices of crude oil in the global market as a result of the Middle East war. Brent crude rose above $100 per barrel due to compounding supply constraints, though it closed below the mark yesterday.
Mr Dangote, whose company controlled about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s domestic supply pre-war, speaking after the meeting, said that although Nigeria is not directly involved in the war, the ripple effects of global oil price fluctuations would inevitably be felt.
“It means quite a lot. We don’t have much to do with it, but I know the world is a global village. And it definitely will affect us, unfortunately, but we pray this situation will be sorted out,” he said after his visit to President Tinubu in Lagos yesterday.
He warned that a prolonged crisis could further destabilise economies, particularly in Africa, where fiscal buffers are limited, and debt pressures remain high.
“If it doesn’t de-escalate, we’ll end up paying high prices, like what I said earlier on CNN. Africa is very busy paying debt, and putting this again on top of us is going to add a lot of hardship on people, on the government, on the people, on everybody, for something that we have no involvement in.”
He stressed that energy costs are central to nearly all sectors of the economy, meaning sustained increases would have widespread and cascading effects on livelihoods and production.
He explained that governments could face mounting fiscal strain as subsidies rise and revenues fluctuate under unstable global oil market conditions.
Mr Dangote added that Africa’s rising debt burden could worsen under prolonged instability, further limiting fiscal space and weakening economic resilience.
“Africa is already grappling with debt, and additional shocks will only compound hardship for governments and the people,” he said.
He said escalating energy costs would disrupt nearly every sector, including small enterprises, manufacturing chains, logistics operations and household consumption patterns.
The business mogul noted that some countries were already adopting coping strategies such as reduced workdays, energy rationing and remote working arrangements.
Mr Dangote said such measures, while necessary, could reduce productivity, slow economic output and affect livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable populations.
He urged global leaders to prioritise de-escalation, stressing that many Africans rely on daily earnings and remain highly exposed to economic shocks.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A Community Development Service (CDS) group focused on investment education for corps members is to be established by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Both organisations recently sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this new initiative, which will promote sound investment habits among Nigerian youths, equip corps members with essential financial knowledge and help them avoid fraudulent schemes.
Under the agreement, the NYSC and SEC will work together on joint awareness campaigns, utilising various channels and platforms, including social media, traditional media, and community outreach, to disseminate information on safe investment and expose fraudulent schemes.
They will also agree on mechanisms for sharing relevant data and reporting on the progress and impact of the collaborative initiatives.
Specifically, the capital market regulator will develop and provide relevant and up-to-date educational content, materials, and training modules on capital market operations, safe investment practices, and the identification and avoidance of Ponzi schemes.
The agency will also be responsible for the content, resources and funding of training sessions for selected corps members and NYSC supervisors who will serve as trainers and facilitators in their respective communities.
On its part, the NYSC will facilitate the integration of anti-Ponzi scheme education into its Education and Enlightenment CDS programme, which could be through dedicated sessions, workshops, or awareness campaigns during orientation camps and throughout the service year.
The Director General of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, expressed satisfaction with the collaboration, saying it will promote financial literacy and sound investment habits among young Nigerians.
His counterpart at the NYSC, Brig-Gen Olakunle Nafiu, lauded the initiative, stressing that it will help in enhancing public awareness campaigns against illegal financial schemes across all Local Government Areas in the country, among other objectives.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the week on a positive note after it appreciated by 0.84 per cent on Monday, March 23.
Trading activity returned yesterday after a two-day break last Thursday and Friday to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
The market capitalisation was up by N20.68 billion to N2.482 trillion from N2.461 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 34.68 points to 4,149.38 points from 4,114.75 points.
The bourse was bullish amid a 1.34 per cent decline in the share price of Geo-Fluids Plc at the close of transactions. The loss was offset by the 3.45 per cent surge in the value of FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc.
A look at the trading data indicated that the activity was weaker yesterday, as the trading volume, value, and number of deals all tumbled.
There was a 99.9 per cent slip in the volume of securities to 412,260 units from the 400.8 million units recorded in the preceding session. The value of securities fell by 99.4 per cent to N7.37 million from N1.2 billion, and the number of deals went down by 31.9 per cent to 32 deals from 47 deals.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 38.7 million units sold for N2.4 billion. Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc followed with 400 million units valued at N1.2 billion, and Okitipupa Plc occupied the third spot with 6.4 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
Resourcery Plc closed the trading session as the most active by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 131.1 million units exchanged for N505.6 million.
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