Apis Growth Fund I, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, has acquired a non-controlling minority stake in Trans-Fast Remittance, a global payments company. 

The investment will facilitate the expansion of Transfast into Apis’ key target geographies of Africa and Asia.

Apis will work alongside existing shareholders GCP Capital Partners and management in order to broaden the company’s product suite and expand its geographic network. 

Following the initial investment, completed in 2016, Apis Growth Fund I is seeking to increase the investment in the company subject to receipt of regulatory approvals. 

The Fund aims to close this additional investment by the end of the first quarter 2017. 

Transfast is an omni-channel provider of multi-currency cross-border payments solutions to consumers and businesses around the world. 

The company operates a network across more than 120 countries and 200,000 payout points in the Americas, Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa with multi-product capability, including a leading instant bank transfer offering. 

Transfast’s focus on delivering market-leading client solutions via a comprehensive product offering has underpinned double-digit organic revenue growth each year since 2007. 

Udayan Goyal, Apis Partners Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said:“Transfast has consistently demonstrated its ability to deliver value for clients seeking seamless and cost-effective cross-border payment solutions and in return the company has witnessed several years of growth significantly ahead of the market and its immediate peers increasing its global market share by an estimated 9x between 2007 and 2015.” 

“Thanks to its proven growth strategy – and starting from its approximately 1% worldwide market share – Apis is confident of the Company’s potential to capture significant further market share,” he said.

Samish Kumar, CEO of Transfast, said that the company is especially well positioned to benefit from the movement towards digital solutions by leveraging its large proprietary multi-product network that includes bank account, mobile wallet and cash payment capabilities to process cross-border payments within minutes. 

“The management team and I are looking forward to working with Apis in continuing to build Transfast into the leading cross-border payment player globally, specifically we seek to benefit from their relationships across Africa and Asia in order to broaden our payment network across these dynamic markets,” he said. 

Matteo Stefanel, Apis Partners Co-Founder and Managing Partner, added: “We are delighted to have invested in Transfast and we look forward to working with Samish and the management team on the company’s further growth in this exciting and highly innovative segment of financial services.” 

“The company already benefits from key secular industry trends such as the increasing use of formal remittances, ongoing technology outsourcing by banks and other financial services firms, and rapidly expanding needs of SMEs and e-commerce players for cross-border payments,” he said.