Redtech Ltd., the fintech arm of billionaire Tony Elumelu’s Heirs Holdings, is weighing a capital raise of approximately $100 million over the next 24 months.
The Series A funding round is designed to transform the Lagos-based startup from a domestic payments player into a pan-African heavyweight, challenging established unicorns like Flutterwave Inc. and Moniepoint Inc.
The expansion comes as Elumelu, who also chairs United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, seeks to consolidate his influence over the continent’s digital economy. By leveraging UBA’s sprawling cross-border network, Redtech aims to facilitate transactions in 54 African countries by the end of 2026.
The $100 Million Series A: Funding the Pan-African Dream
Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ojo noted that the business has reached a “mature stage” where aggressive equity injection is required to sustain its momentum:
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The Expansion Roadmap: Redtech plans to enter 29 African countries in the first half of this year alone.
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Leveraging the “Elumelu Effect”: As a unit of Heirs Holdings—with interests spanning energy, hospitality, and banking—Redtech enjoys a built-in corporate ecosystem that few startups can match.
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UBA Integration: The startup will plug its infrastructure into UBA’s regional operations, creating a seamless payment rail across the continent’s most lucrative markets.
Scaling at Speed: 100,000 POS Target
Redtech is aggressively deploying hardware to capture the “last mile” of Nigeria’s rapidly digitizing economy:
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Point-of-Sale (POS) Blitz: The firm has already deployed 30,000 devices and plans to surpass 100,000 POS machines by year-end.
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Cashless Catalyst: The company is a direct beneficiary of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) relentless push for a cashless society, which has spiked demand for agency banking and digital gateways.
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Volume Projections: Redtech expects its annual transaction count to jump from 25 billion last year to 100 billion within two years.
Valuation and Competition: Chasing Unicorn Status
Redtech enters an increasingly crowded field where deep-pocketed rivals are consolidating their positions:
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The Rivalry: Flutterwave recently acquired Mono Technologies to boost its open-banking edge, while firms like Chipper Cash and Moove continue to raise significant capital.
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Transaction Value: Ojo projects that the value of transactions on the platform will reach ₦100 trillion ($73 billion) in the next two years, up from ₦30 trillion in 2025.
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Product Diversification: Beyond payments, the firm is readying new digital products to compete for the wallets of Africa’s unbanked and underbanked populations.
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