Lipa Later attracts $24.5m lifeline offers amid financial crisis

Once a darling of African fintech, Lipa Later now faces a critical turning point as three suitors, including Engage Capital and Advance Global Capital, submit rescue bids.

By Nhlanhla Muthe

Lipa Later co-founder, Eric Muli, is the driving force behind the startup.

Kenyan fintech startup Lipa Later, once hailed as a rising star in Africa’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector, is now the subject of a high-stakes bidding war as three firms table offers to acquire or finance the embattled company.

Documents filed with administrator Joy Vipinchandra Bhatt of Moore JVB Consulting show that Canadian venture firm Engage Capital has made the highest offer to date of $24.5 million (KES 3.17 billion). Engage’s bid includes acquiring Lipa Later’s fintech platform, customer database, and intellectual property, while assuming only performing loans and settling verified liabilities.

Following Lipa Later’s collapse into administration in March 2025, London-based Advance Global Capital is also proposing a three-year, $5 million (KES 646 million) receivables-backed facility, to support invoice factoring and regional expansion. Under its offer, $3 million would be disbursed immediately, with another $2 million expected after 12 months, particularly targeting growth into Uganda and Rwanda.

A third bidder, a Nairobi-based financial consultancy that remains unnamed, has submitted a $19.3 million (KES 2.5 billion) acquisition proposal. Lipa Later co-founder and CEO Eric Muli confirmed that talks with this local suitor began prior to the March 24 administration order.

Lipa Later was placed under court-supervised administration after failing to meet obligations to employees and suppliers, amid mounting undisclosed debts and failed fundraising efforts. The firm had raised $14.7 million (KES 1.9 billion) over three funding rounds between 2019 and 2023, including a $12 million equity round in early 2022.

The company’s financial crisis deepened after a controversial acquisition of e-commerce platform Sky.Garden for $1.93 million (KES 250 million) in 2023. Its inability to pay salaries and a lawsuit over a $13,130 (KES 1.7 million) consultancy debt to UK-based Africa Foresight Group (AFG) further dented confidence. In a 2024 ruling, the High Court of Kenya dismissed Lipa Later’s defense, finding it had acknowledged the debt.

Administrator Bhatt has called on creditors to submit claims by April 23. “We are engaging all key stakeholders of the company to elicit their cooperation in order to achieve the best possible outcome,” she said, without disclosing how many bids are under consideration due to legal constraints.

Founded in 2015, Lipa Later once promised to revolutionize consumer credit in Africa. Its fate now rests on whether one of the competing offers can restore its viability, or write its final chapter.