It is cutting 33 employees in Europe and the United Arab Emirates, where its engineering hub is located, to allow it to “find costs and get closer to customers,” CEO Shola Akinlade said in a statement posted on X/Twitter.
“We are changing our operating model to prioritize locating team members in the markets we serve,” he said.
No staff in Nigeria and the other African markets where Paystack operates will be affected by the job cuts, the company said.
The payments processing and services provider this month announced expansion into Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt and Rwanda, bringing it to seven countries of operation on the continent, in addition to Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
Founded in 2015 by two Nigerians, including the CEO, Paystack was acquired by Patrick and John Collison’s payment services giant Stripe for $200 million in 2020.
Stripe, which has dual headquarters in San Francisco and Dublin, acquired Paystack to position itself for expansion in Africa, where traditionally low markets combined with the potential created by rapid digital adaptation and economies characterized by large degree from a large number of small and micro businesses accelerated the development of the fintech industry.
In the three years since the acquisition, the company’s “recruitment philosophy has been to hire great talent regardless of location,” Mr. Akinlade said, adding that the restructuring will optimize human resources and customer service in the African operations.
Africa, with its huge unbanked population and increased adoption of smartphones and digital technology, is attractive to investors looking to leapfrog payment services.
Fintechs such as Interswitch, Flutterwave and Jumia Technologies have achieved billion dollar valuations.
The Collison brothers, founders of Stripe, are not the only Irish entrepreneurs who have seen the potential of African markets.
Clare man Tiernan Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Umba, a digital bank operating in Nigeria and Kenya, where he bought a majority stake in Daraja Microfinance Bank last year to gain access to a market of 53 million people. Umba has raised $15 million in 2022 from various investors, including Dublin-based venture capital firm ACT. (Additional Bloomberg reports)