From Lagos to the World: The Paystack Story

The $200M Acquisition That Changed Everything

In October 2020, Stripe acquired Paystack for over $200 million—the largest acquisition of a Nigerian startup at the time. For founders Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, it was the culmination of five years of relentless focus on making payments simple for African businesses.

But the Paystack story isn't just about the exit. It's about two founders who understood their market deeply, built a product developers loved, and stayed focused when others were chasing trends.

Developer-First in a Market That Didn't Know It Needed It

Paystack's breakthrough was treating developers as their primary customer. While competitors focused on enterprise sales, Paystack built beautiful APIs and documentation that made integration effortless. Nigerian developers became their evangelists.

This approach required patience. Enterprise deals are faster to close than grassroots adoption. But Paystack bet that once developers loved them, businesses would follow. They were right.

What Founders Can Learn

Paystack's journey teaches several lessons: Build for the people who actually use your product, not just the people who buy it. Stay focused—Paystack resisted the temptation to become a bank or wallet. And remember that building trust takes time, but it creates a moat that competitors can't easily cross.