Quick Read:
- TSG launches as the parent holding company to a family of complementary brands – including Paystack, Paystack MFB, Zap and TSG Labs (a new venture studio/incubator)
- The group reports profitability following >12x payment volume growth since acquisition by global payments giant Stripe 5 years ago; the announcement coincides with Paystack’s 10-year anniversary in January 2026
- The agreements establishing TSG as the parent holding company were signed in October 2025 and are pending the requisite regulatory approvals
- TSG Labs will also develop products beyond fintech, including AI-led offerings
Paystack, a company solving payments problems for ambitious businesses in Africa, has announced the launch of The Stack Group (TSG), a parent holding company that will aggregate the tech-focused family of brands connected with Paystack.
The announcement comes barely few days the acquisition Ladder Microfinance Bank which gives the fintech, owned by Stripe, direct control over deposits and lending, areas where small businesses usually face challenges.
TSG Founding shareholders include Stripe, Shola Akinlade, founder and CEO of Paystack, and existing Paystack employees.
The agreements establishing TSG as the parent holding company were signed in October 2025, and are subject to the requisite regulatory approvals.
Since its acquisition by Stripe in 2020, Paystack has grown its payment volume by 12x and is licensed and operational in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, with regulatory approvals for Egypt and Rwanda, representing ~46% of Africa’s GDP.
This product-first approach to pan-African growth has since led to Paystack becoming profitable at the group level, the company announces today.
Today’s news follows the recent launch of Paystack MFB in Nigeria. Functioning as a standalone bank, Paystack MFB allows the group to internalise core financial rails and provide the banking and credit infrastructure required by over 300,000 Nigerian merchants.
These capabilities enable the development of elegant, compliant, and much-needed end-to-end money-movement solutions and will continue to power the company’s mission of building technology solutions for Africa, to power African ambition.
Providing a corporate umbrella for a family of complementary brands that innovate in different domains, TSG companies will be united by shared values and deep knowledge of building technology products to solve Africa-specific challenges, while remaining operationally independent. At the outset, TSG will include:
- Paystack – innovates within merchant payments
- Zap – innovates within consumer payments
- Paystack Microfinance Bank – innovates within banking
- TSG Labs – innovates with emerging technologies and builds new products both within and beyond financial technology
Shola Akinlade, CEO and Paystack Founder, says,
“The launch of TSG signals a larger scope of ambition for us and sets the tone for the next decade of our company. 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. Thank you to the Stripe team for their continued belief in Africa’s potential, and our ability to create transformative technology companies for the continent, and beyond.”
The announcement comes as Paystack celebrates its 10-year anniversary in January 2026.
