Nigerian fintech startup Risevest (Rise) has acquired Hisa, a Kenyan mobile investment platform that allows anyone in Kenya to invest in U.S. stocks and ETFs using mobile money
The acquisition was approved by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA), giving Risevest the right to operate in the country.
Post-acquisition, TechCabal reported that Hisa is expected to retain its brand and operations including its staff to allow seamless operations because the acquired company is well-versed in the peculiarities of the local market.
Following the acquisition, Hisa CEO, Eric Jackson, will become Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and co-founder Eric Asuma will take on the role of Strategy Advisor.
Leah Njoroge, Finance Associate at Hisa, will become Head of Operations, reporting directly to Risevest CEO Eke Urum, who will now oversee Hisa as part of his portfolio of acquired startups.
Urum told TechCabal that they have no plans of changing the name Hisa because they like it and it resonates with Kenyans.
“We are not planning to make a lot of changes; it is time to understand the company, the culture, the context and the market we are coming into,” Urum said.
Asuma said the acquisition aligns perfectly with their shared vision of broadening investment opportunities for Africans.
“This move not only widens Hisa’s reach but will enable significant technology upgrades. We are grateful to our investors who believed in and supported our journey. The milestone is as much theirs as it is ours.” he said.
In a statement, the Hisa team noted that the ownership change will now allow them to invest in additional resources into making critical improvements to the product experience, app stability and to leverage the additional resources provided by Risevest to bring customers new and more exciting offerings.
“The Hisa team, including its founders Eric Asuma and Eric Jackson remain on the team and Faida Investment Bank continues to be our investment partner. We have also ensured that regulators and all our stakeholders were involved in our discussions and continue to endorse and support the work we do,” the statement read.
“We would love to assure our clients that what you can expect from this partnership is increased access to global offerings, better and smoother experience on local offerings, and more investment into the team, product and operations of Hisa in order to deliver a solid investment experience and to better support your investment goals as Hisa customers.”
Risevest 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 markets like stocks, ETFs, bonds and alternative investments.
Hisa was founded in 2020 by Eric Asuma and raised $250,000 in pre-seed funding from angel investors such as Faida Investment Bank, Estonia based VC Startup Wise Guys, Chipper Cash Founders Ham Serunjogi and Majid Moujaled – at a post money valuation of $5 million.
Follow us on Telegram, Twitter, and Facebook, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter to ensure you don’t miss out on any future updates. Send tips to editorial@techtrendsmedia.co.ke
