It was reported that a U.S. based popular venture capitalist invested in Paga few months ago. No amount was mentioned. But Tekedia reports that through an internal source that the investment is close to $1m. Our source put it at between $850,000 to $1m.
Paga will continue to attract investments because of its unique product which is a growth area. The license from the CBN is basically all that it needs to attract investors. Forget the technology, just the license. In short, the license as the investment and not the technology. Nigeria is the biggest black race and this mobile payment thing could be disruptive to banking. And that is why the like of UBA is moving into Uno.
The investment was made through the Draper Fisher Jurvetson (“DFJ”) which backs extraordinary entrepreneurs everywhere who set out to change the world. DFJ achieves its mission through its DFJ Global Network of Partner Funds. Together, DFJ and the Network manage over $7B and have made more than 600 investments on four continents. With a 25-year history of success across diverse sectors and market conditions, DFJ has led the way investing in emerging technologies, from the Internet and life sciences to clean energy and nanotechnology.
Pagatech was founded in early 2009 with a mission to transform lives by delivering innovative and universal access to financial services across Africa. Our first product offering, Paga, is a direct to consumer mobile payments service launched to the general public in February 2011. Paga is an innovative, open, secure, and interoperable mobile payments platform that allows any person who has a mobile phone to transact electronically – thus turning the mobile phone into an electronic wallet.