E-Payment Giants Interswitch Rekindles Plans to Raise $1Bn from IPO by Listing in the NSE and LSE

Nigeria’s leading Fintech company, Interswitch has reignited its plans to raise an initial public offering (IPO) of $1billion, by listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange later this year.

Interswitch, a Nigerian based Fintech company owned by Helios Investment Partners has been a major player in Nigeria’s digital finance structure since its launch in 2002.

Interswitch’s sophisticated payment platform caters for the electronic banking and financial transactions of over 32 million consumers.  

Following the steps of Jumia Technologies AG, Nigeria’s mega e-commerce company who listed in New York earlier this year, Interswitch are unfolding plans becoming a Public company before the end of the year.

The company’s initial listing was thwarted in 2016, majorly due to the economic decline suffered in Nigeria following the drop in crude oil pricing.

According to Bloomberg, the E-payments giants have now enlisted JPMorgan Chase & Co, financial advisers, and Standard Bank Group as firms working on the potential initial public offering.

Efforts to confirm the plans and obtain details concerning the probable listing of Interswitch have been tight-lipped. However, Bloomberg quoting an anonymous source valued Interswitch at about $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion.

Interswitch owners Helios Partners, specialize in promoting African assets by investing in African ventures. E-commerce platform MallforAfrica and Nigerian payments firm Paga are a few of the Tech companies Helios backs.

Across the continent, and specifically in Nigeria, the IT sector is growing at a fast pace. Some VC investors have acknowledged the continent’s potential by supporting African consumer goods, digital content, and Fintech oriented startups. According to Crunchbase, a minimum of $400 million was invested by VC investors in 2014.

Tech consumers in Nigeria spend approximately $400 million annually. The projected demographics speculates that the youth-driven market will spend over $1 trillion and generate over $75 billion in e-commerce by 2020.

Interswitch holds a major stake of digital finance market share in Nigeria’s over $510 billion economy with spreading influence across African countries. It currently operates in more than 5 African countries and would be looking to capitalise on the IPO to actualise the company’s plans for additional African expansion.