Smile Identity has announced its acquisition of the parent company of Appruve, Inclusive Innovations, Inc, and is currently working on meeting regulatory requirements to complete the transaction for all affiliated entities in Africa.
Operating for 6 years now, Smile Identity sees the acquisition as a strategic move to expand its presence and become the leading identity verification and digital KYC (know-your-customer) provider in Africa. The acquisition will allow it to strengthen its position in the region having raised $20 million in a Series B in early 2023.
Smile Identity provides document verification, face verification, biometrics, and data integrations to establish a person’s true identity. They also collaborate with local trusted ID authorities to provide their services.
'Smile Identity now powers 4% of Africa.' – CEO, @SmileIdentity pic.twitter.com/RVTXT1khxB
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On the other hand, Appruve, a Ghanaian developer of identity verification software, has been using financial and identity data to detect fraud and automate compliance for businesses in Africa since 2018.
The merger of Smile Identity and Appruve’s parent company is expected to provide the market with the widest ID coverage in Africa enabling more Africans to easily verify their identities online making it easier for them to access services that require identity verification.
“With this acquisition, we can strengthen our overall understanding of the direction of KYC in Africa. This includes our knowledge of the markets, our relationships with regulators, and our collaborations with compliance officers across the continent in both the public and private sectors,” said Mark Straub, CEO and Co-Founder of Smile Identity.
According to a press release, the acquisition will result in an expanded suite of APIs, including mobile money, data, and anti-fraud checks, providing customers with a more comprehensive digital identity verification solution. The combined entity is also said to cover over 1 billion Africans, the African diaspora, and 100 million African businesses, supporting over 230 documents and data types with integration options for every device and operating system combination in Africa.
“From a product standpoint, we’re excited to work with Smile Identity on fraud-related data sources, an area that Appruve has looked at extensively and built some infrastructure around. On the other hand, Smile Identity just rolled out an AML product, and when combined with these datasets and our shared presence across multiple markets, we will provide the best possible experience for all of our clients across Africa” said Paul Damalie, CEO and Founder, Appruve.
Smile Identity, which recently hit a milestone of 60 million identities checked, says it will deepen its presence in Ghana and expand into francophone Africa with a focus on Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal.
“With the ability to verify all local identity documents across Francophone Africa, Smile Identity is now even more relevant to its clients and to banks and financial services institutions serving West Africa.”
