Paystack, the African payments company backed by Stripe, has announced the launch of The Stack Group (TSG), a new parent holding company designed to consolidate and scale its expanding ecosystem of technology-driven brands.
According to a press release received by the Techparley team today, 20th January 2026, the agreements establishing TSG were signed in October 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. Founding shareholders of the new holding company include Stripe, Paystack’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shola Akinlade, as well as existing Paystack employees.
Commenting on the announcement, Shola Akinlade, Founder and CEO of Paystack, described the launch of TSG as a reflection of the company’s expanding ambition.
“The launch of TSG signals a larger scope of ambition for us and sets the tone for the next decade of our company,” Akinlade said.
What You Need to Know
Since its acquisition by Stripe in 2020, Paystack has undergone rapid expansion. The company says its payment volumes have grown 12-fold over the past five years, while its operations now span Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Côte d’Ivoire, with regulatory approvals secured for Egypt and Rwanda.
Together, these markets represent approximately 46 per cent of Africa’s GDP, underscoring Paystack’s increasingly pan-African footprint. The company attributes this growth to a product-first expansion strategy, prioritising regulatory compliance and localised infrastructure rather than rapid geographic sprawl.
Notably, Paystack disclosed that it has now become profitable at the group level, a milestone that sets it apart in an ecosystem where many fintechs continue to prioritise growth over sustainability.
“Having worked with thousands of companies across the continent since 2016, it is clear that there are significant opportunities to support businesses beyond payments, and TSG enables us to address the challenges African companies face,” Akinlade says.
Akinlade also acknowledged Stripe’s continued support, thanking the company for its “belief in Africa’s potential” and Paystack’s ability to build transformative technology businesses for the continent and beyond.
Paystack MFB and the Push to Internalise Financial Rails
The announcement follows the recent launch of Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB) in Nigeria, a development that significantly expands the company’s role in the financial services stack.
Operating as a standalone bank, Paystack MFB enables the group to internalise core banking and credit infrastructure, allowing it to serve more than 300,000 Nigerian merchants with deeper financial services.
According to the company, this capability supports the creation of end-to-end money movement solutions, reducing reliance on third-party banking rails while improving speed, reliability, and compliance.
This shift reflects a broader strategy to move beyond payments processing into foundational financial infrastructure, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses operating across Africa’s fragmented financial systems.
Inside The Stack Group’s Portfolio
Under the new structure, TSG will act as a corporate umbrella for a family of operationally independent companies, united by shared values and a focus on solving Africa-specific challenges through technology.
At launch, The Stack Group will include:
- Paystack, focused on merchant payments and business infrastructure
- Zap, dedicated to consumer payments and everyday money movement
- Paystack Microfinance Bank, innovating within banking and credit
- TSG Labs, an experimentation arm focused on emerging technologies and new product development, both within and beyond fintech
Each brand will operate independently while benefiting from shared expertise, infrastructure, and long-term strategic alignment.
The launch of The Stack Group comes as Paystack prepares to mark its 10th anniversary in January 2026, a symbolic moment for a company that began as a small Lagos-based startup and has since become one of Africa’s most influential fintech success stories.
With TSG, industry leaders say Paystack is signalling that its next chapter will be defined not just by payments, but by a broader mission: building durable, scalable technology infrastructure to power African ambition across multiple sectors.
Talking Points
Paystack’s decision to launch The Stack Group signals a clear shift from being a payments company to becoming a broader financial and technology infrastructure provider for African businesses.
By creating a holding structure that brings together payments, consumer finance, banking, and emerging technologies, Paystack is positioning itself to address deeper, structural challenges faced by businesses across the continent, rather than solving payments in isolation.
At Techparley, we see this move as an important step in building durable, Africa-first financial infrastructure, especially at a time when many startups are struggling to move beyond single-product offerings.
The launch of Paystack Microfinance Bank is particularly significant, as it allows the group to internalise core financial rails and design end-to-end money movement solutions that are faster, more reliable, and better suited to local realities.
However, execution will be critical. Managing multiple brands across different regulatory environments while maintaining product quality and trust will test the group’s operational discipline and long-term focus.
If done right, The Stack Group could become a blueprint for how African fintechs scale sustainably, evolving from point solutions into platforms that power commerce, innovation, and economic growth across the continent.
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