Accelerex Holdings, Mauritius has announced that its Nigerian subsidiary, Global Accelerex Limited, has registered a N20 billion bond programme, and successfully issued a five-year senior unsecured bond of N2.3 billion via a special purpose vehicle, Accelerex Funding SPV Plc.
It said FBN Quest Limited, Renaissance Securities Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited and Nova Bank Limited acted as arrangers.
The bond is rated BBB+ (stable outlook) by Global Credit Ratings and Bbb+ (stable outlook) by Agusto & Co. and is listed on the FMDQ Exchange, according to a statement.
The company said the issuance attracted participation from a broad array of institutional investors, including local pension funds, insurance companies and asset managers.
It said the relative strong demand despite the very difficult economic and operating environment confirmed the market’s confidence in the company’s creditworthiness, long-term resilience, and significant growth potential.
The statement said: “The bond issuance, coming after Accelerex’s successful private equity round in 2020, provides its Nigerian subsidiary with critical long-term and local currency capital to fund expansion and support its mission of accelerating the financial inclusion of businesses and individuals across Africa.
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“Accelerex is only the second-ever Nigerian fintech or payments company to successfully place a long-term, investment grade, unsecured bond in the Nigerian capital market.”
The company said the proceeds from the issuance would be used to finance the expansion of distribution channels and general working capital.
Olukayode Ariyo, managing director of Global Accelerex Limited, said: “We are very happy with the result of this bond issuance as it confirms the market’s interest in advancing digital payments and financial inclusion across Nigeria. It is an attestation of the confidence reposed in us, despite the difficult market environment.
“We thank our bondholders for their belief in our company. We will press forward with our mission of simplifying everyday life for Africans through accessible, convenient and affordable digital payments and financial services.”
Paul Kokoricha, director at Accelerex Holdings and chief investment officer at Africa Capital Alliance, said: “The medium-term bond issuance significantly strengthens the balance sheet and liquidity of Accelerex’s Nigerian operations and provides it with much-needed local currency funding and duration to support its expansion plans.
“As equity investors in Accelerex, we are very excited that Nigerian debt investors were supportive of the deal, thereby providing useful financial leverage and local currency diversification to the company’s balance sheet. With its strengthened balance sheet, Accelerex and its management team can confidently continue their quest to expand access to Nigeria’s financially under-served population.”
Since it began operations in 2013, Accelerex has grown into a formidable player in the fintech industry and has established itself as the preferred physical payments partner to all merchant acquiring banks in Nigeria, according to the statement.
It said the company has over 150,000 merchant and agent endpoints across Africa and has consistently ranked as a top 3 provider of payment channel services (by value of transactions processed) in Nigeria since 2018. It currently operates in Nigeria, Ghana and East Africa, with plans to expand to other parts of the continent in the future.
