Kenyan investment app Hisa has been acquired by Risevest, a similar but more established company in Nigeria.

“I am delighted to share this Hisa was acquired by Risevest,” announced Hisa co-founder Eric Asuma on Twitter.

“Eke Urum (CEO of Risevest) and I share the same vision: to expand investment opportunities for Africans. A big thank you to our early investors – this milestone is as much yours as it is ours.”

The deal would allow Risevest to operate in Kenya and is the Nigerian company’s second investment in less than a year. In September 2023, Risevest acquired another Nigerian company, digital commerce firm Chaka.

According to Urum, Hisa will retain its name while the company’s brand and personnel will also not be affected by the move.

“We like the name Hisa because it resonates well with Kenyans, so we have no plans to change it,” Rise CEO Eke Urum told the reporter.

“We don’t plan to make many changes; it’s time to understand the company, the culture, the context and the market we’re entering.”

Hisa’s current CEO Eric Jackson will now reportedly become CTO, a position he previously held.

Asuma, founder of Kenyan business publication Wall Street, co-founded Hisa with Jackson in 2020 and will stay on as a strategy advisor.

Leah Njoroge, a former investment analyst at Kenyan Wall Street and a financial partner at Hisa, has been named head of operations. She will oversee Hisa’s seven employees and report directly to Urum, which will now manage Hisa as part of its broader startup portfolio.

Founded by Boatswain Olanrewaju, Eke Urum, Tony Odiba, Risevest describes itself as a technology-driven financial company that connects ordinary Africans to the best dollar-denominated investment opportunities around the world.

Investment fintechs have become popular, especially among young urban Nigerians, allowing them to invest in foreign stocks and bonds, with experts saying they have increased financial inclusion in the country.

Risevest, who had his accounts frozen by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2021 over suspicion of involvement in cryptocurrencies, claims to have over 600,000 users with over $42 million in returns paid to investors across Nigeria, Ghana, the United States, Kenya and Uganda who use its app to invest in global stocks.

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