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bne August 2023 Companies & Markets I 27
bne:Tech
Neobank acquisition makes Papara Turkey’s first fintech unicorn
bne IntelIiNews
Papara has laid claim to the title of Turkey’s first fintech unicorn company. The milestone – of reaching a valuation of more than $1bn – was confirmed on July 13, nine days after Istanbul-based Papara announced the completion of its acquisition of Spanish neobank Rebellion from Beka Finance for an undisclosed sum and shares.
Launched in 2015 by Ahmet Faruk Karsli and Ilker Diker, Papara is among 48 electronic money institutions active in Turkey.
“When we gave Beka Finance our shares, they became shareholders at a price level that valued our company at unicorn level,” Papara founder Ahmed Karsli told Bloomberg.
Papara was founded as an electronic payments firm. It expanded its offerings this year to include insurance for pets, homes, travel and mobile phones. It now has 16mn active users.
Papara is now negotiating to buy another European neobank and would disclose the exact amount of its valuation at the acquisition time, Bloomberg also reported.
In March, bne IntelliNews reported that Papara intends to launch operations in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
A consolidation wave is expected in Turkey's fintech market. / Papara advertising, screengrab
Turkey’s faltering economy and the challenging global macroeconomic environment were set to lead to a consolidation wave in the fintech market, with smaller, lossmaking firms increasingly absorbed by larger companies with deep pockets, Sipay founder and CEO Nezih Sipahioglu told PYMNTS in an interview posted in April.
Sipahioglu added that Turkish banks still viewed fintechs as competitors, but the situation has improved over the years and financial institutions needed to recognise the value they stood to add by partnering with fintechs.
Turkey is also becoming a prime market for digital goods and services, in which the opportunity “can’t be overstated,” Worldline head of digital goods and services Michael Bilotta told PYMNTS in April.
“What you see is that because it’s a young population, they’re becoming more and more sophisticated,” Bilotta was reported as saying at the time. “They’re the ones that are starting to guide this. It’s our responsibility as the payment service provider to listen to what they’re saying, and then build the on-ramps.”
Ukraine’s Nova Poshta launches operations
in Romania
bne IntelliNews
Ukraine’s largest private postal and courier operator Nova Poshta (Nova Post) opened its first Romanian office, on Unirii Boulevard in downtown Bucharest, on June 26.
Nova Poshta serves both individual customers and firms and aims to encourage trade between Ukraine and the target markets. Romania is the fifth foreign market where the
company has opened an office, after openings in Moldova, Poland, Latvia and Czechia. The company will next target Germany with a new office.
While in the other four markets the company serves as a connection with customers in Ukraine, in Romania it will make transfers with Moldova as well – hence between two foreign markets.
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