ApideckTape
← Embedded Finance Index 2026

iPay Africa

“Can a Kenya-born payment aggregator become the dominant multi-rail digital payments infrastructure layer across sub-Saharan Africa under the eLipa brand?”

Founded2010
HQNairobi, Kenya
IndustryFintech / Payments
The story

Founded in 2010 as a Kenya-focused online payment gateway for e-commerce merchants, iPay Africa (operated by Fivespot Kenya Limited) gradually broadened its rails from card-only to aggregating mobile money channels including M-PESA, Airtel Money, and Equitel alongside Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay. The company expanded its API suite to cover C2B, B2B, B2C disbursements, recurring billing, and utility billing. Pan-African expansion is now underway under the eLipa brand in Uganda, Tanzania, and Togo, positioning iPay as a multi-country payment aggregator across East and West Africa.

Last 12 months
—
Product timeline
2010
iPay founded by Fivespot Kenya Limited as a payment gateway for Kenyan e-commerce merchants.· payments
2019
Won Best Payments Integration Services Provider at the 3rd Digital Tech Excellence Awards.· pivot
2020
Won Best e-Commerce Payment Company at the Digital Tech Excellence Awards 2020.· payments
2021
Gold Award for Best Innovation in Payments at E-Commerce Awards 2021.· payments
2022
Gold Award for Payment Processing Platform of the Year at E-Commerce Awards 2022.· payments
2024
Expanded Pan-African operations under the eLipa brand, active in Uganda, Tanzania, and Togo.· pivot
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by iPay Africa
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
1 layer disclosed in iPay Africa’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
iPay Africa (self-operated)
Accounting gap: significant

iPay Africa — frequently asked

Who is iPay Africa's payment processor?

iPay Africa processes payments through iPay Africa (self-operated).

Where is iPay Africa headquartered?

iPay Africa is founded in 2010 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

Benchmark your own stack

Request an embedded finance strategy assessment

Get a read on where your own stack stands against iPay Africa and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.

  • Your category, mappedHow your stack compares to iPay Africa and the other companies in its category.
  • Build vs. buyWhere a provider relationship would close a gap faster than building it.
  • A named analyst, not a form replyA short call to scope what's actually worth assessing for you.

No newsletter, no sharing your address. We use this to reach out about the assessment and nothing else.