KCB Group is set to acquire a 22.23 per cent stake in digital payments company Pesapal Limited, revealing the scale of a fintech investment that could deepen the lender’s presence in East Africa’s rapidly growing digital payments industry.
The size of the proposed acquisition was disclosed by Tanzania’s Fair Competition Commission as it reviews the transaction. According to the regulator’s notice, KCB plans to acquire 22.23 per cent of Pesapal Limited’s entire issued share capital, a transaction that would give the Kenyan banking group indirect control over Pesapal Tanzania Limited.
KCB first announced its proposed investment in Pesapal in November 2025 but did not disclose the percentage stake it intended to acquire or the financial value of the transaction. The Tanzanian regulatory filing therefore provides the clearest indication yet of the scale of KCB’s planned ownership position in the payments company.
The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The value of the transaction has also not been publicly disclosed, meaning the 22.23 per cent ownership stake does not reveal how much KCB is paying for its investment.
Pesapal has developed into an established East African payments company with operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia. Its technology enables businesses to accept and process payments while providing other services designed for sectors including hospitality, travel, retail, petroleum, manufacturing and business-to-business commerce.
The company is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya and operates in a payments market that has grown rapidly as consumers and businesses increasingly move transactions away from cash and towards mobile, card and online payment channels.
For KCB, the acquisition represents more than a conventional financial investment. The banking group has been expanding its digital financial services as traditional lenders face growing competition from fintech companies, mobile money platforms and technology-driven financial services providers.
An investment in Pesapal potentially gives KCB greater exposure to payment transactions taking place outside conventional bank branches while creating opportunities to combine payments infrastructure with banking products such as credit, deposits and services targeted at small and medium-sized businesses.
KCB Group Chief Executive Paul Russo said when the investment was initially announced that the partnership would strengthen the bank’s ability to provide digital financial services while supporting businesses across the continent.
Pesapal founder and chief executive Agosta Liko described the proposed investment as an opportunity to accelerate the payments company's growth and expand access to digital financial services for African businesses.
The transaction also demonstrates how the boundaries between banks and fintech companies are becoming less distinct. Banks increasingly want access to the technology and transaction data generated by digital payment platforms, while fintech businesses can benefit from the capital, financial infrastructure and large customer networks available through established lenders.
KCB already operates across several African markets, including Tanzania, giving the group a regional footprint that overlaps with parts of Pesapal’s existing network. Tanzania’s competition regulator became involved because KCB’s acquisition of shares in Pesapal’s Kenyan parent company would result in indirect control over the payments company's Tanzanian subsidiary.
The Tanzanian regulator’s review will assess the transaction under the country’s competition framework before the deal can proceed as proposed. Other regulatory approvals may also be required before the investment is completed.
Neither the regulator’s disclosure nor KCB’s earlier announcement provides the transaction price. Publicly available information also does not establish whether the entire 22.23 per cent stake is being purchased from existing Pesapal shareholders, created through the issuance of new shares, or involves a combination of arrangements.
Those details will determine how the investment ultimately affects Pesapal’s ownership structure and how much fresh capital, if any, flows directly into the payments company.
What is already clear is that KCB is seeking a sizeable minority position in one of East Africa’s established digital payments businesses. If regulatory approvals are secured and the transaction is completed, the investment would give the banking group a stronger foothold in the region’s fintech ecosystem as competition for payments, merchant services and SME financial products continues to intensify.
