Stitch, a South African API fintech company, has raised $21 million in Series A funding, bringing its total capital raised to $27 million. The round was led by New York-based investment firm The Spruce House Partnership, with participation from PayPal Ventures, TrueLayer, CRE Venture Capital, and other prominent investors and fintech founders.
The company specializes in providing APIs that enable businesses to connect seamlessly with financial accounts, streamlining financial services such as payments, identity verification, and data access. With this funding, Stitch aims to create a “financial graph” ecosystem that bridges financial institutions and accounts across Africa.
A Vision for Interconnected Finance
Stitch’s “financial graph” concept focuses on building an interoperable infrastructure that connects financial systems across geographies. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Kiaan Pillay, explained, “We view the broader financial ecosystem as interconnected nodes—bank accounts, fintechs, and users. Our goal is to bridge these connections to foster seamless financial transactions across regions.”
Stitch is pursuing this vision in three stages:
Infrastructure Development: Establishing APIs to connect financial accounts.
Business Integration: Enabling merchants to build scalable financial solutions on the infrastructure.
Consumer Adoption: Encouraging end-users to link their accounts through businesses using Stitch’s APIs.
Expanding Offerings Across Markets
Stitch provides services for fintechs, e-commerce platforms, and marketplaces, addressing use cases like KYC, lending, wallet top-ups, and bank-to-bank transfers. Notable clients include Chipper Cash, Luno, and Yoco. The company launched its payments product in South Africa in 2021 and later expanded to Nigeria. Since its launch, Stitch has seen exponential growth, reporting a 104% month-on-month increase in payments value and significant customer adoption.
Scaling Operations with New Funding
The recent funding will support Stitch’s expansion into new African markets, the enhancement of its product offerings, and the growth of its teams in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Lagos. The company also plans to deepen its payments capabilities and introduce new services like data and identity products in Nigeria.
A Strong Backing of Global Investors
Stitch’s funding round attracted investors experienced in scaling fintech solutions across regions. Ben Stein, co-founder of The Spruce House Partnership, highlighted Stitch’s exceptional team and potential, stating, “This is one of the most talented teams on the continent, and we are excited to support their journey.
”With its innovative approach to open finance and a robust plan for regional expansion, Stitch is poised to play a pivotal role in Africa’s financial ecosystem, driving inclusion and connectivity across the continent.
