Redtech Ltd., a Nigerian financial technology startup backed by billionaire investor Tony Elumelu, is considering raising up to $100 million in fresh capital over the next two years.
This is to accelerate its expansion across Africa.
The Lagos-based company, which provides payment services and agency banking solutions, plans to expand operations into 29 African countries in the first half of the year.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Ojo, made this known in an interview, according to Bloomberg.
What they are saying
According to Redtech’s Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Ojo, the company will consider launching a Series A funding round after laying the groundwork for its continental rollout.
- “We have been scaling up very fast,” Ojo said in an interview. “The business has now reached a more mature stage, and we need additional equity to support expansion and introduce new products across Africa.”
Redtech projects a sharp rise in activity on its platform over the next two years. Annual transaction volumes are expected to grow to about 100 billion transactions, up from 25 billion recorded last year.
Over the same period, the total value of transactions processed is projected to rise to N100 trillion, from about N30 trillion in 2025, highlighting the company’s ambition to become a major payments backbone in multiple African markets.
Backstory
The startup’s growth strategy aligns with broader trends in Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, which has been boosted by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s sustained push toward cashless transactions.
- Redtech has already deployed more than 30,000 point-of-sale devices nationwide and recently launched a payment gateway, positioning itself to compete more directly with established fintech unicorns such as Moniepoint Inc. and Flutterwave Inc.
- Redtech operates as a unit of Heirs Holdings, the diversified investment group founded and owned by Tony Elumelu, with interests spanning banking, energy, hospitality, and technology. Elumelu is also the single largest investor and chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, one of Africa’s largest financial institutions by geographic footprint.
Redtech’s integration within the Heirs ecosystem provides it with strategic backing and industry connections that could support its cross-border ambitions.
However, the company is entering an increasingly crowded and competitive market. Flutterwave, which operates in about 35 African countries, recently announced plans to acquire Nigerian open-banking platform Mono Technologies to strengthen its product offerings and revenue base.
Other major players, including Chipper Cash and mobility-fintech firm Moove, have also been expanding aggressively across the continent, intensifying the race for market share.
What you should know
Despite these challenges, Redtech’s management believes the scale of Africa’s underbanked population and the rapid digitisation of payments present significant long-term opportunities.
The proposed $100 million capital raise, if completed, would be deployed to deepen market penetration, enhance technology infrastructure, and support regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
As African fintech continues to attract global and regional capital, Redtech’s expansion plans and fundraising ambitions place it among the new wave of homegrown players seeking to build pan-African platforms capable of competing with established market leaders.
