Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, has completed buyout of Mediterranean Smart Cards Company (MSCC), the premium electronic payment processor in Africa.
Actis will become the majority shareholder; the management team, led by Madame Hoda Shoukry, has also invested for a stake in the business.
Africa is the last continent to move away from a cash society, the continent providing huge opportunities for card companies. MSCC was founded in 2001 and has built on its leading market share in Egypt to penetrate over 20 countries. It is now emerging as Africa’s leading provider of high-quality, flexible technology for card payment processing and support services.
The company presents an attractive value proposition to banks by reducing time to market, freeing management capacity to focus on core operations, and reducing costs.
A third of Egyptian banks currently outsource their card processing to MSCC.
Madame Hoda Shoukry, CEO of MSCC said: “It is rewarding to be involved in an Egyptian company that has made such great strides in Africa: we look forward to working with Actis and continuing to strengthen and grow the MSCC business.”