FloatThe Ghanaian cash flow and spending management platform has completed the full acquisition of Accounteer, a cloud-based, subscription-based Nigerian accounting service that combines bookkeeping, tax preparation, and financial advisory services all in one platform for African businesses, for an undisclosed amount.
The deal comes 8 months after Float closed its $17 million equity and debt seed funding, and is one of Africa’s largest initial rounds. according to Jesse gnsahwho co-founded Float with Effat Adji auger In 2021, the conversation that led to the takeover began in 2021, and it took nearly 10 months before the deal finally closed.
Gnsa and Adji founded Swipe in 2020 to provide invoicing services to businesses. But in June 2021, the company rebranded to Float to extend credit to businesses against their dues. That is, it grants loans to companies that expect their customers to pay them after providing the service but that are in dire need of cash to run their business. Float was Gonsah’s way to solve a credit issue he finally ran into while running OMG Digital, a YC-backed media company he founded in 2015.
Two years later, Ghonsa & Adji now offers a variety of services. Besides its core service, flexible lines of credit for businesses to cover cash flow gaps, Float also provides invoicing automation, vendor or supplier payments, and bill collection, while helping businesses connect and manage all of their bank accounts and digital wallets in a single dashboard. It also helps its users to open business accounts, create payment links, and manage budget and spending cards. The company has introduced more features such as advances in revenue and instant payments, and is currently testing cross-border transfers in partnership with companies that offer this service.
Float essentially positions itself to be the “financial operating system” for small and medium businesses in Africa, but one thing is missing: a product to address poor and unconsolidated accounting and bookkeeping. One of the biggest reasons business credit penetration is so low is that most small businesses do not have organized financial operations and records, so it is difficult for large lenders to underwrite and extend credit.
“Most business owners mix their personal transactions with their business transactions,” Ghansa told TechCabal over a phone call. “They don’t have proper accounting practices and proper bookkeeping practices. We wanted to fix this at scale.”
The desire to solve this problem for their clients led to the acquisition of Accounteer. Ghonsa said he’s been watching some accounting startups since then [Float] She identified the accounting problem, and has been “particularly influenced by the accountant’s path over the years to become the cloud accounting software of choice for over 14,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria and beyond”. He believes that adding Accounteer to Float’s ecosystem of products and services will be a game changer as it expands into new markets with the two companies.
Founded in 2015 by Meryn Campstein, accountant It allows users to create invoices, track expenses, and record payments, among other things. The project-backed company provides accounting software that allows businesses to continue operations without an internet connection. For Accounteer, the exit came as it was looking to provide credit to more than 14,000 users inside and outside Nigeria.
Ghonsa believes the Accounteer has built a strong enough business and will continue to operate independently under Float. “Float will provide credit during bookkeeping and accounting, and we look forward to an exciting future with the team,” he said. While Ghonsa stated that most of the Accounteer talent pool will join Float, CEO Campsetyn, who is currently helping to redesign and integrate both platforms, will not join Float full time but will act as a consultant for now.
Float is currently operating in Nigeria and Ghana with a plan to expand into Kenya before the fourth quarter of this year.
This year, we’ve seen a number of acquisitions across the continent. Nigeria’s Autochek has acquired Moroccan KEFAL Autos to start operations in North Africa and the French-speaking African currency to support growth in the region. Moroccan Shari has also acquired AXA Credit Maroc in Morocco and Ivorian Diego to begin operations in West Africa. This new deal is a worthy addition to the ongoing trend of intracontinental mergers and acquisitions in Africa.