South African digital payments gateway, Peach Payments, has announced the acquisition of PayDunya, a West African payment platform, marking its first entry into Francophone Africa.
This move follows Peach Payments’ earlier expansions into Eswatini (2024), Mauritius (2021), and Kenya (2018). The digital payments gateway, known for enabling online payments for businesses of all sizes across Africa, is now poised to strengthen its pan-African presence through its strategic acquisition.
Based in Dakar, PayDunya began operations in 2015, sparked by founder Aziz Yérima’s realization in 2013 that no online payment solutions existed for a women’s community group he was assisting. After developing a prototype in 2014, Yérima co-founded PayDunya with fellow ESMT-Dakar students Youma Fall, Christian Palouki, and Honoré Hounwanou, hailing from Senegal, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively. Their mission: to build payment infrastructure tailored for Francophone Africa.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
Today, PayDunya operates in six West African Francophone countries which include, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Mali. The platform supports online payments for websites and mobile apps, as well as bulk payment collection and disbursement. Also, it serves notable enterprises like Jeune Afrique, VFS Global, SUNU Assurances, Dubai Port Dakar, Sky Mali, and Free Business (now Yas), alongside other fintech’s leveraging its payment rails.
From a modest €20k in bootstrap funding, PayDunya has grown into a profitable company, employing over 40 people, serving more than 4,000 B2B customers, and processing 70,000 transactions daily. Achieving profitability in its third year, the company has seen consistent revenue growth ever since driven by strong unit economics and a proven team of digital entrepreneurs.
Speaking on the acquisition, PayDunya founder Aziz Yérima said,
“We are thrilled to join forces with Peach Payments, a company that shares our vision of accelerating Africa’s digital transformation through innovative financial solutions. This acquisition marks a significant milestone for PayDunya as it enables us to make our expansion dreams to reach and enhance the value we bring to businesses across Francophone and Anglophone Africa come true. Together, we are poised to create a seamless, inclusive, and robust payment ecosystem that empowers African businesses to thrive in the digital economy.”
Peach Payments CEO and co-founder Rahul Jain views the acquisition as a key step in creating a continent-wide payment ecosystem. By integrating PayDunya, the platform is unlocking the UEMOA and CEMAC regions, giving merchants access to over 450 million people across our 12 operational markets and we’re not stopping there.”
“Success isn’t just raising funds, it’s about putting that capital to work. Our growth strategy rests on three pillars: expanding market share organically, launching new products and services, and leveraging mergers and acquisitions. PayDunya fits perfectly into our West African expansion and strengthens our offerings for cross-border and international merchants”, Jain added.
For its commitment to providing cutting-edge payment solutions to businesses of all sizes, Peach Payments was recognized as one of the most innovative fintech startups in 2024 by CB Insights, the leader in technology market intelligence. The platform is used by over 200+ people, operating in 3+ regions.
This latest acquisition of PayDunya by Peach Payments will see it expand into its sixth West African country, representing an exciting chapter in the company’s journey. The acquisition unlocks new opportunities for merchants who can now partner with Peach Payments and access over 450 million people across the markets they operate.
Looking Ahead
Pending standard closing conditions, the deal is expected to be finalized within months. By combining Peach Payments’ enterprise-grade solutions with PayDunya’s regional expertise, the partnership aims to drive digital payments adoption and empower businesses across Africa’s diverse markets.