Consolidation in Southern Africa’s utility fintech sector is accelerating as established operators look beyond traditional merchant acquiring and airtime lending to tap into the high-margin, recurring revenue of prepaid electricity.
The latest move comes from JSE-listed microlender Optasia, which has agreed to acquire Dubai-based electricity credit specialist Finergi for $30m (R497.6m). The deal underscores a broader trend in the market, following Lesaka Technologies’ successful $28m buyout of Recharger in 2025, as fintech groups capitalize on the region’s structural power challenges.
The Optasia-Finergi Deal
Optasia, a platform specializing in microlending and airtime credit across mobile networks, is pivoting its core model to energy distribution. Finergi’s technology effectively turns prepaid electricity meters into digital wallets, allowing consumers to buy electricity on credit via mobile requests. The advanced credit is then automatically repaid when the customer purchases their next electricity top-up.
The mechanism is nearly identical to the airtime lending model that built Optasia’s core business, making Finergi a natural operational fit.
Transaction details:
- Upfront consideration: $30m (R497.6m) for the entire issued share capital.
- Structure: $24.9m in cash and $5.1m in Optasia equity (4,337,982 ordinary shares).
- Earn-out: A contingent $10m payment tied to defined performance milestones.
According to Optasia, which listed on the JSE last November and is backed by a minority stake from FirstRand, Finergi provides direct KYC capabilities and on-the-ground identity data to strengthen underwriting accuracy.
Optasia group CEO Salvador Anglada noted that the intellectual property positions Finergi as a first mover in utilities credit. “The acquisition materially accelerates Optasia’s strategic plan by enhancing its capabilities and ecosystem reach,” Anglada said, referencing “Mission 300” — a global initiative aiming to bring electricity to 300 million people by 2030 via smart meters.
The acquisition comes on the back of strong post-IPO momentum for Optasia. For the year ending December, revenue surged 76% to $265.4m, adjusted EBITDA grew 52% to $114.5m, and HEPS rose 9% to 3.38c. The company currently has access to over 860 million mobile subscribers through 49 distribution partners, including heavyweights like Vodacom, MTN, Airtel, Jazz, and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison.
The Recharger Precedent
Optasia’s move mirrors a playbook already validated by dual-listed fintech Lesaka Technologies (Nasdaq: LSAK; JSE: LSK). In March 2025, Lesaka acquired South African prepaid electricity submetering business Recharger in a $28m (ZAR 507m) transaction.
Lesaka settled the deal across two tranches with ZAR 332m ($18m) in cash and ZAR 175m ($10m) in common stock, alongside a ZAR 43m ($2m) loan repayment on Recharger’s behalf.
Since the acquisition, Recharger has emerged as a clear growth engine within Lesaka’s Enterprise division. The division recently posted $29.6m in half-year revenue (a 42% increase) and delivered $2.7m in adjusted EBITDA, recovering from a $0.03m loss the previous year.
Recharger’s operational metrics highlight the sector’s appeal:
- Active footprint: 357,300 active prepaid meters, primarily in multi-tenant residential buildings.
- Transaction volume: Reached ZAR 465m ($27m) in the second quarter alone.
- Business model: Recurring commission revenue generated on every top-up transaction, with near-zero ongoing customer acquisition costs (CAC) post-installation.
Structural Tailwinds vs. Commoditized Markets
The push into utility fintech is driven by unique structural tailwinds in South Africa. The ongoing electricity crisis has made prepaid submetering highly attractive to landlords seeking to mitigate billing disputes, while the shift toward cost-reflective electricity pricing naturally increases the value of the transactions flowing through these platforms.
Furthermore, these businesses require minimal ongoing capital expenditure, as hardware installations are typically funded by the property landlords.
The unit economics of utility fintechs stand in stark contrast to other areas of the payment sector. For Lesaka, Recharger operates in a defined niche with high switching costs and reliable recurring revenue. This is highly instructive when compared to its other recent acquisition, Adumo, which competes in the heavily commoditized merchant acquiring market — a space characterized by multiple providers, relentless margin pressure from card schemes, and the need for continuous, heavy technology investment.
For fintechs like Optasia and Lesaka, prepaid electricity platforms offer a high-margin, sticky ecosystem that traditional payment gateways simply cannot match.
