Manny Ita –
Redtech Ltd., the fintech subsidiary of Tony Elumelu’s Heirs Holdings, is considering a $100 million capital raise to fund an ambitious pan-African expansion strategy. The company’s leadership confirmed the potential fundraising move on Wednesday, following a year of exponential growth that saw the firm process approximately ₦30 trillion ($20.6 billion) in transactions throughout 2025. This figure represents a 100% increase over the previous year’s performance, signaling the startup’s rapid transition from a captive service provider for Heirs Holdings into a dominant force in the broader Nigerian digital payments landscape.
Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ojo stated that the infusion of new equity is necessary to facilitate the startup’s entry into new territories and to scale its existing infrastructure. “The business has now reached a more mature stage, and we need additional equity to support expansion and introduce new products across Africa,” Ojo said, noting that the target timeline for the raise is within the next two years. The company’s roadmap is heavily focused on geographical diversification, with plans to establish operations in 29 African countries by the end of 2026, leveraging the existing continental footprint of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and other Heirs Holdings entities.
The startup’s growth trajectory is anchored in its enterprise-first approach, which prioritizes seamless payment reconciliation and POS solutions via its RedPay platform. By catering to the specific needs of large corporations and small-to-medium enterprises, Redtech has carved out a high-volume niche in a competitive market. Looking ahead, Ojo projected that the company’s infrastructure would eventually support 100 billion transactions annually, with a valuation goal of ₦100 trillion in processed volume over the next 24 months.
Industry analysts view the proposed capital raise as a test of investor appetite for African fintech amid a shifting global venture capital environment. However, Redtech’s affiliation with the Elumelu-led conglomerate provides a unique advantage in terms of institutional trust and distribution networks. As the company prepares for its next phase, the focus remains on transforming into a continental financial backbone, moving beyond its initial role as an internal technical support unit to becoming a standalone powerhouse in the African digital economy.
