Apis Growth Fund II Announces Investment in Leading B2B Payment Network DT One

LONDON and SINGAPORE, May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP ("Apis Partners"), a UK-based asset manager that supports growth stage financial services and financial infrastructure businesses, has today announced an investment in DT One, a leading global B2B digital micropayments platform powering cross-border transfers of mobile top-ups, data bundles, gaming pins and gift cards.

DT One was founded over 15 years ago with the aim of providing mobile carriers with the infrastructure and services they needed to help migrant workers and diaspora communities stay in touch with family and friends back home. Today, DT One's customers use its proprietary platform to power cross-border micropayments in the form of airtime and data bundle top-ups to billions of prepaid phones in more than 160 countries, and it allows mobile users to redeem or purchase over 9,000 digital content and gift card products.

More than 1,000 enterprise customers already use DT One's solutions, and annual transaction volumes have continued to double yearly. Recently, the company has also successfully expanded its offering, leveraging its platform to enable small‐value payments within the creator economy.

Supported by the funding from Apis Growth Fund II, DT One plans to further expand its global footprint by continuing its organic expansion, invest further into product development and commercial excellence, and pursue new acquisitions and partnerships. 

Fintech investment specialist Apis Partners was drawn to the differentiated payments opportunity presented by DT One and the strong collaborative culture of its solutions-focussed team. As an ESGI-native investor, Apis Partners will be using its sector specific expertise to ensure that the sustainability and societal impact of the investment in DT One is maximised. This partnership will enable the continued broadening of DT One's network, allowing diaspora to safely remit low value payments internationally in a cost-effective way, and enable broad telecommunication service access across growth markets.

"We have been extremely impressed with DT One's accelerating market penetration and how their products have touched so many users around the world. It is a testament to their continued commitment to delivering a safe, fast and convenient experience for people to stay connected and help businesses monetise and increase in-app engagement. We are excited to support them as the company enters a new stage in its growth journey," said Matteo Stefanel, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Apis Partners. 

"We are delighted to be partnering with DT One, which we see as an excellent digital payments opportunity. The company is already a leader in its field and stewarded by an experienced management team with a proven track record of growing payments companies. We believe that our sector specific expertise will complement the team as they move to expand its global footprint," said Udayan Goyal, Apis Partners Co-founder and Managing Partner.  

"DT One solves challenges in developing markets where prepaid services are predominant and data usage is exploding. We have a strong network of more than 550+ mobile operators with marquee partnerships for digital vouchers. I'm delighted that Apis Partners recognises our achievements, and has decided to support us for our next stage of growth and diversification," said Peter de Caluwe, CEO of DT One.

"Over the past several years, DT One has remained a fast-growth business while driving increased levels of profitability each year. This investment from Apis will help accelerate our growth trajectory and fuel our acquisition strategy," said Dan Gardner, CFO of DT One. 

About Apis Partners

The Apis Group ("Apis") is an ESGI-native global private equity and venture capital asset manager that supports growth stage financial services and financial infrastructure businesses around the world by providing them with catalytic growth equity capital. Collectively Apis, through its team of approximately 30 professionals with deep industry expertise, manages or advises on total committed capital from investors (including drawn and invested capital) of over US$1.2 billion.

Including its headquarters in London, Apis has representation in seven countries across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Apis is highly conscious of the developmental impact that the provision of growth capital for financial services and financial infrastructure businesses in growth markets can achieve, and as such, financial inclusion is a core tenet of Apis' approach and investment mandate. Apis became a signatory to the United Nations backed Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) upon inception of the firm in 2014. https://apis.pe/

About DT One

DT One is a leading B2B digital transfer network for mobile top-up and data solutions. It interconnects more than 1,000 telecommunications, digital and business partners across 160 countries, delivering smart digital connectivity solutions for over 5 billion mobile consumers across emerging economies, helping them maintain quality digital and social connections. www.dtone.com. 

Among the many customers who have joined DT One's network over the years, to name a few: mobile operators AT&T, Ooredoo, Saudi Telecom and Vodafone, Southeast Asia's leading super app Grab, online payments platform PayPal, mobile money wallet Coins.ph, and global money transfer operators  MoneyGram, Western Union and WorldRemit