Introduction
South African fintech company Peach Payments has announced its acquisition of customer software development firm Operativa. This marks the first acquisition for Peach Payments since securing a $30 million funding round led by the Apis Growth Fund II last year.
Strategic Integration and Leadership Changes
As part of the acquisition, the entire Operativa team will be integrated into Peach Payments. Operativa's co-founders, Dayne Olivier and Ben Janecke, will take on roles as Principal Engineers within Peach Payments. Olivier and Janecke have been collaborating with Peach Payments since 2022, contributing significantly to the development and maintenance of the company’s payment systems and solutions.
Building the Foundation for Expansion
The Operativa team has played a crucial role in creating the technical infrastructure that has supported Peach Payments' rapid growth. Their work includes integrating new payment methods such as Apple Pay and onboarding new merchants and banking partners. “Operativa has been a trusted partner since the very beginning of our relationship, so the opportunity to acquire the business was not only a strategic business decision but felt like a natural next step,” said Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments.
Operativa’s Market Experience
Operativa has a diverse portfolio, having served clients in financial services, information security, e-commerce, and cloud hosting industries. Following the acquisition, Operativa will transfer operations for its other clients to ensure seamless business continuity.
Olivier and Janecke on Joining Peach Payments
“We have always really enjoyed working with Peach Payments. We believe that the business has what it takes to become the undisputed payments leader in Africa. We see this acquisition as a call-up to the winning team,” stated Dayne Olivier. Ben Janecke added, “We were able to build something really special with Operativa. We made significant strides working with Peach Payments as our partner, and we are confident that as an integrated business, we’ll be able to achieve even more.”
Accelerating Growth and Innovation
By bringing Operativa’s specialized skills and developers in-house, Peach Payments aims to expedite its growth strategy. “The additional capital raised from the Apis Growth Fund II is allowing us to execute faster as we build new products and expand across Africa. Operativa has the people, skills, and intricate knowledge that comes from having worked with us on developing our systems, allowing us to hit the ground running together on some really exciting new projects,” Jain concluded.
The full acquisition of Operativa by Peach Payments is expected to be completed by August. This strategic move is set to bolster Peach Payments’ capabilities and accelerate its mission to become the leading payments provider in Africa.
