Smile Identity, a KYC compliance and ID verification partner for African fintechs and businesses, has acquired Inclusive Innovations, the parent company of Appruve, a Ghanaian developer of identity verification software.
Smile Identity is actively fulfilling regulatory requirements to finalise the transaction for the affiliated entities in Africa.
Smile Identity will deepen its presence in Ghana and expand into francophone Africa with a focus on Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal.
With the ability to verify all local identity documents across Francophone Africa, Smile Identity is now even more relevant to its clients and to banks and financial services institutions serving West Africa.
Sources say the cash-and-stock deal was “not more than $20 million.”
About Smile Identity and Appruve
Smile Identity is a major player in Africa’s ID verification and KYC compliance industry. The company combines document verification, face verification, biometrics, and data integrations into local trusted ID authorities to verify people’s identities.
Appruve provides an API that verifies user identity, fraud detection, and digital documentation, primarily focuses on new datasets that enable or complement traditional government data such as international passports and national IDs.
What They’re Saying
Mark Straub, CEO and co-founder of Smile Identity, says, “With this acquisition, we can strengthen our overall understanding of the direction of KYC in Africa. This includes our knowledge of the markets, our relationships with regulators, and our collaborations with compliance officers across the continent in both the public and private sectors.”
“From a product standpoint, we’re excited to work with Smile Identity on fraud-related data sources, an area that Appruve has looked at extensively and built some infrastructure around. On the other hand, Smile Identity just rolled out an AML product, and when combined with these datasets and our shared presence across multiple markets, we will provide the best possible experience for all of our clients across Africa,” said Appruve founder and CEO Paul Damalie.
Why This Matters
Smile Identity, according to its statement, said the Appruve acquisition — which expands its suite of APIs, including mobile money, data, and anti-fraud checks — will allow it to “cover over 1 billion Africans, the African diaspora, and 100 million African businesses, supporting over 230 documents and data types with integration options for every device and operating system combination in Africa.”
This strategic acquisition will expand Smile Identity’s footprint across Africa and solidify its position as the continent’s leading identity verification and digital KYC provider.
What Happens Next
For the next few weeks, Appruve and Smile Identity will work on completing the required administrative processes to conclude the acquisition of Appruve’s local entities. As a result, their customers can expect a steady transition process, an expanded product offering, a full suite of SDK and API integration methods, and global time zone customer support coverage. The combination expands Smile Identity’s lead in providing Africa’s best identity verification and KYC solutions.
Source: Techcrunch
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