KCB Group PLC has announced its intention to acquire a minority stake in Pesapal Limited, a licensed payment solutions provider regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya.
The move marks KCB’s second major fintech investment in 2025, reinforcing its ambition to build a full-stack financial services platform for East Africa’s MSME economy.
“The investment sets the stage for development of innovative payment and other related solutions for Kenya’s small and microenterprises, enhancing value for shareholders of both Pesapal and KCB,” the lender said in a statement signed by Bonnie Okumu, the Group General Counsel and Company Secretary.
This latest deal follows KCB’s $15.4 million acquisition of a 75% stake in Riverbank Solutions in March 2025. Pesapal, known for processing over 12 million transactions monthly, brings merchant payment acceptance, POS infrastructure, and digital credit capabilities to the table.
Building a Payments and Commerce Ecosystem
Together, Riverbank and Pesapal form complementary pillars of a broader digital finance ecosystem:
- Riverbank: Agency banking infrastructure and SME management tools across three markets.
- Pesapal: Payment gateway, merchant services, and embedded credit for MSMEs.
Under CEO Paul Russo’s leadership, KCB is executing on a clear thesis:
“Across the region, payments are expected to have the fastest growth, suggesting an opportunity to innovate.”
Strategic Imperative: Full-Stack Financial Services
With Riverbank’s distribution rails and Pesapal’s merchant gateway, KCB now controls both ends of the transaction funnel. This vertical integration unlocks:
- Cross-sell opportunities across SME segments
- Data-driven product innovation
- Ownership of transaction economics at multiple touchpoints
In 2024, KCB’s profit surged 64.9% to KSh 61.8 billion, with 99% of transactions now digital. Non-interest income hit KSh 67.5 billion, validating the pivot beyond traditional lending.
Infrastructure Over Apps
KCB’s approach contrasts with banks chasing consumer-facing apps. Instead, it’s targeting licensed, regulated, revenue-generating infrastructure plays. Both Riverbank and Pesapal reduce execution risk while offering scalable platforms for embedded finance.
Pending regulatory approvals, the acquisitions position KCB as the embedded finance backbone for East Africa’s MSME sector, a role that blends banking, payments, and digital enablement.
What This Means for East Africa’s Fintech Sector
The region’s fintech landscape is entering a maturation phase, says Ali Hussein Kassim, Chairperson of The Fintech Alliance.
“Standalone players may increasingly find their exit path through strategic acquirers with capital and distribution muscle. For KCB shareholders, this is a bet on infrastructure-led returns, beyond interest margins.”
