This acquisition, recently sanctioned by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, allows Rise to operate in Kenya without needing additional licences. 

Hisa, a well-established company in the Kenyan stock trading market, will maintain its brand identity and retain its entire workforce, signalling a continuity in operations.

Eke Urum, CEO of Rise, said the company has no immediate plans to alter Hisa’s structure. “We see value in understanding the company’s dynamics and culture before making any changes,” Urum commented. 

He noted that the Hisa brand aligns strongly with the Kenyan audience, and this will remain a key asset as Rise integrates the startup into its portfolio.

The terms of the acquisition were not publicly disclosed, though insiders suggest a combination of stock and cash was involved. Hisa’s co-founder, Eric Jackson, will now transition into the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO), a position he previously held, while his fellow co-founder, Eric Asuma, who also founded the Kenyan Wall Street, will continue as a strategic advisor. 

Leah Njoroge, formerly an investment analyst and finance associate, has been promoted to head operations, reporting directly to Urum.

Strengthening its foothold in the Kenyan market, Rise plans to focus initially on understanding its new acquisition’s operational structure before considering external leadership hires. “We will look at leadership once we’ve seen improvements in operations,” said Urum, highlighting a cautious approach to making significant changes.

Hisa, which was founded in 2020, has garnered support from investors such as Faida Investment Bank, alongside Ham Serunjogi and Majid Moujaled, co-founders of Chipper Cash. While Urum did not comment on whether all existing investors will remain, he confirmed that Faida continues to back the company.

For Rise, this acquisition is its second within the past year, following its takeover of digital trading platform Chaka in 2023.

Applications for the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge kicked off in July this year for pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa to bid for the ultimate prize of $50,000.

These startups went through stages involving online applications, regional pitches, and founder interview phases of the competition, before making it to the final pitch. They will represent their country at the Demo Day and Final Pitch Competition scheduled to be held in Accra Ghana in December 2022.

They include:

1. Sproutly from Nigeria, a digital banking, tuition financing for teens and students. The startup provides payments, education management and credits for schools;
2. Kwely from Senegal is an innovative made-in-Africa B2B brand incubation and digital distribution platform;
3. Swoove from Ghana is a last-mile delivery and fulfillment tech startup building e-commerce infrastructure for SMEs and commerce companies on the continent;
4. Hisa of Kenya is building the tech infrastructure for investing in Africa and;
5. Desert Green Africa of South Africa is an agritech transforming the Informal Agri-value chain in Africa by providing more efficient delivery of Fresh produce from small-scale farmers to informal traders.

Speaking on the selection of the top 5 startups, the Director of Portfolio at MEST Africa, Melissa Nsiah said:

“It hasn’t been an easy process. Mostly because, this year, we saw so many valid business models and met some incredible founders with huge visions that align very closely with ours. But in the final analysis, we were able to zero in on the cream of the crop to select the top 5 companies from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa in alignment with this year’s selection criteria. Our team is eager to work closely with each of the 5 finalists in preparation towards the final competition day in December.”