Paystack, the leading African payments platform solving complex financial challenges for businesses across the continent, has launched The Stack Group (TSG), a new parent holding company that consolidates its expanding family of technology brands.
Paystack
Founding shareholders of TSG include global payments giant Stripe, Paystack Founder and Chief Executive Officer Shola Akinlade, and key employees from the Paystack team, with agreements formalised in October 2025 pending necessary regulatory approvals.
Since Stripe’s strategic acquisition of Paystack in 2020, the company has recorded exponential growth, achieving a 12-fold increase in payment volumes while securing licences and operations in five African markets—Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa—alongside regulatory approvals for Egypt and Rwanda, collectively representing approximately 46 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product.
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This pan-African expansion, driven by a product-first strategy, has propelled Paystack to profitability at the group level, a key milestone announced alongside the TSG launch.
The formation of TSG follows closely on the heels of Paystack Microfinance Bank’s (MFB) recent debut in Nigeria, operating as a fully independent bank to internalise critical financial infrastructure and deliver banking and credit services tailored for more than 300,000 Nigerian merchants.
These integrated capabilities empower the development of seamless, compliant end-to-end money movement solutions, reinforcing Paystack’s core mission to build innovative technology that fuels African ambition and addresses unique continental business needs.
Under the TSG umbrella, the portfolio encompasses Paystack for merchant payment innovations, Zap for consumer-focused payments, Paystack MFB for banking services, and TSG Labs dedicated to pioneering emerging technologies and developing novel products both within financial technology and beyond.
Each entity maintains operational independence while sharing core values and specialised expertise in crafting solutions for Africa-specific challenges, fostering synergies across complementary domains.
Shola Akinlade, speaking on the landmark development, declared that the launch of TSG heralds an era of broader ambition, setting the strategic direction for the company’s next decade of impact.
“Having partnered with thousands of businesses continent-wide since 2016, the vast opportunities to extend support beyond payments are evident, and TSG positions us to confront the multifaceted hurdles African enterprises encounter,” Akinlade stated.
He extended gratitude to the Stripe team for their unwavering faith in Africa’s technological promise and Paystack’s capacity to pioneer transformative innovations for the continent and global markets.
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This corporate restructuring coincides with Paystack’s 10-year anniversary celebrations in January 2026, underscoring a decade of resilience, innovation, and market leadership in Africa’s burgeoning digital economy.
Industry observers view TSG as a bold masterstroke that not only safeguards Paystack’s legacy but also amplifies its potential to shape the future of financial services, commerce, and technology across Africa at a time of rapid digital transformation and heightened investor interest in the region’s fintech ecosystem.
