From Cape Town, South Africa, a region where flashy consumer apps and crypto wallets often dominate headlines, South Africa’s Stitch is quietly establishing itself as a foundational layer of Africa’s emerging digital economy.
Launched in 2019 by Cape Town-based entrepreneurs Kiaan Pillay, Priyen Pillay, and Junaid Dadan, Stitch is developing an ambitious payments infrastructure platform designed to unify how money moves across the continent.
The startup’s tools integrate bank accounts, cards, digital wallets, and crypto assets, creating what it calls a “programmable layer” for modern commerce.
With over $107 million in venture capital raised to date and operations spanning South Africa, Nigeria, and other key markets, Stitch is positioning itself not just as a service provider, but as the invisible engine behind Africa’s future financial stack.
“We’re not just building a payments company, we’re building the infrastructure for programmable money in Africa,” said Kiaan Pillay, Stitch’s co-founder and CEO. “Our goal is to make it easy for any business, from a one-person store to a listed enterprise, to move money seamlessly across digital channels.”
From APIs to Africa’s Commerce Rails
Initially launched as a data aggregation platform, Stitch has evolved into a developer-first payments provider. Its suite of APIs supports a wide range of financial services, including card processing, instant EFTs, debit orders, digital wallet transactions, and even crypto checkouts.
In 2023, the company introduced Stitch Express, a no-code solution for SMEs and creators seeking plug-and-play checkout options for platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Webflow.
The product then gained popularity among non-technical merchants across Nigeria and South Africa.
“With Stitch Express, we’re lowering the barrier for creators and SMEs to start accepting payments in minutes, no developers needed,” explained Junaid Dadan, Stitch’s President. “It’s our way of ensuring financial access isn’t limited by technical expertise.”
In January 2025, Stitch entered the physical retail space with its acquisition of ExiPay, a South African point-of-sale company.
This allowed Stitch to roll out Stitch In-Person Payments, enabling merchants to accept payments across physical touchpoints. Recently, in July 2025, Stitch acquired Efficacy Payment, another milestone for ensuring better service provision.
The company also integrated cryptocurrency capabilities into its checkout tools, allowing users to pay with assets from Binance, VALR, or Luno, while ensuring merchants receive local fiat settlement.
“Africa’s commerce landscape is inherently omni-channel, from WhatsApp vendors to big-box retail, and we believe financial infrastructure needs to reflect that reality,” said Priyen Pillay, co-founder and Head of Strategy. “We’re designing for flexibility, scale, and local nuance.”
Backed by Global Capital, Trusted by Local Giants
Stitch’s growth has attracted significant backing from global investors. Following a $4 million seed round in 2021 and a $21 million Series A in 2022, the company closed an additional $25 million in 2023. Most recently, it raised $55 million in Series B financing in April 2025, led by QED Investors.
“Our Series B is a vote of confidence, not just in Stitch, but in Africa’s digital economy,” said Matt Risley, Partner at QED. “We’re backing Stitch because they understand both the infrastructure needs and the commercial realities of the continent.”
The startup is now processing more than 50 million transactions annually, valued at over $2 billion. Its platform supports a diverse range of sectors, from online marketplaces and fintech apps to betting firms and traditional retailers.
Major enterprise clients include MTN, MultiChoice, The Foschini Group (Bash), SnapScan (Standard Bank), LottoStar, and HollywoodBets, evidence of its technical credibility and security compliance.
“Large enterprises need stability, security, and scale, and we’ve built Stitch to deliver all three,” noted Dadan. “At the same time, we’re committed to giving smaller businesses the same quality of infrastructure that powers our biggest clients.”
Stitch Expansion Across Africa
Stitch’s regional expansion is already underway. Its office in Lagos, opened in late 2022, has become a gateway to Nigeria’s fast-growing digital economy.
The startup now facilitates over 15% of its transaction volume outside South Africa, with sights set on Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt as its next targets.
“We’ve seen remarkable demand from merchants across Nigeria and other key markets,” said Pillay. “It’s clear that businesses across Africa are ready for more reliable, unified infrastructure, and we’re just getting started.”
By focusing on localized bank integrations, licensing, and compliance strategies, Stitch is navigating the fragmented African regulatory landscape while laying the groundwork for future scalability.
Building Africa’s Payments Future
With fresh capital, Stitch is investing heavily in developer tooling, omnichannel payment architecture, and card acquiring services. Its modular APIs and crypto integration strategy reflect a long-term bet on interoperability as the defining feature of African financial systems.
“Africa’s payment landscape isn’t going to mirror the West, it’s going to leapfrog it,” said Priyen Pillay. “We’re betting on a future where crypto, wallets, and bank accounts co-exist, and Stitch is building the rails to support that fusion.”
“Ultimately, we want to be the engine room behind African commerce,” added Pillay. “If we succeed, you may never see our name, but your money will move faster, safer, and smarter.”
Experts’ View: The Infrastructure Layer That Matters
As global interest in African fintech continues to surge, experts believe Stitch represents a crucial category of startups focused not on consumer wallets, but on the infrastructure that powers them.
“While many fintechs go after user-facing features, Stitch is solving a harder problem, making the ecosystem itself work,” noted Alex Thompson, Partner at FutureScape Ventures. “That’s a long-term play, and one we believe will define Africa’s financial future.”
Its dual-pronged approach, serving both large-scale enterprises and grassroots merchants, gives it resilience in a fast-moving, competitive landscape.
With its quiet but strategic expansion, regulatory foresight, and technical reliability, Stitch is increasingly viewed as a long-term contender for becoming the default financial plumbing of Africa.
If the continent’s future hinges on interoperable, real-time money movement, Stitch may be one of the companies writing that script, one API call at a time.
Talking Point
What sets Stitch apart is its commitment to building foundational infrastructure rather than front-facing apps. It’s not just reacting to Africa’s fintech evolution, it’s actively engineering its future.
Raising $55 million in Series B funding amid a cautious VC climate is proof that investors recognize the long-term value in this model.
By mastering the backend of money movement, quietly, methodically, and with local nuance, Stitch is forging ahead against all odds, positioning itself as the financial plumbing behind Africa’s next digital leap.
