To expand its digital identity verification solution across Africa, Smile Identity purchased Appruve.
Smile Identity announced in a news statement on Wednesday (April 26) that it is trying to complete the acquisition of its connected firms in Africa in addition to purchasing Inclusive Innovations, the parent company of Appruve.
According to Smile Identity CEO Mark Straub, “With this acquisition, we can improve our overall understanding of the direction of KYC in Africa.” This includes our market expertise, our connections to regulators, and our partnerships with compliance officers in the public and private sectors throughout the continent.
Additionally, the purchase would allow Smile Identity to grow into Francophone Africa. Together, the two companies will serve 100 million African enterprises and 1 billion people in Africa.
From a product perspective, Appruve CEO and Founder Paul Damalie said in the announcement, “We’re delighted to collaborate with Smile Identity on fraud-related data sources, an area that Appruve has looked at extensively and created some infrastructure around.
However, Smile Identity has recently released an AML [anti-money laundering] solution, and when paired with these datasets and our common presence in several markets, we will offer the greatest service to all of our clients in Africa.
The CEO of Identitypass, Lanre Ogungbe, told in an interview published in May 2022 that high rates of fraud and cyber threats and a lack of cutting-edge verification solutions to successfully combat fraudsters have been key hurdles restricting the prospects for corporate growth and development in Africa.
