PalmPay targets Hong Kong IPO as it seeks $200M for global expansion

PalmPay, the Africa-focused digital payments company backed by MediaTek, is exploring a potential initial public offering in Hong Kong while raising roughly $200 million in a funding round that would value the company at more than $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The funding round, which is still ongoing, would make PalmPay the latest African fintech to cross the unicorn threshold, joining a small but growing list of African technology companies valued at over $1 billion, including Flutterwave, OPay, and Wave.

The sources, who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity because the details are not yet public, said a Hong Kong listing is being considered as the next step following the fundraise.

PalmPay launched in Nigeria in 2019 and has grown rapidly to become one of the country’s most widely used mobile payment platforms, competing directly with OPay in the agent banking and consumer payments space. The platform allows users to send money, pay bills, and access basic financial services through a mobile app, targeting the large segment of Nigerians who remain outside the formal banking system or who prefer mobile-first financial tools.

MediaTek, the Taiwanese semiconductor company that supplies chips to a significant portion of the world’s Android smartphones, has been a key backer of PalmPay since its early stages. The strategic alignment makes sense: PalmPay’s growth depends on smartphone adoption, and MediaTek’s chips power many of the affordable Android devices through which Nigerians access financial services.

Why PalmPay is choosing Hong Kong

The choice of Hong Kong as a potential listing destination is notable. It reflects a broader pattern of African fintechs with Chinese-linked investors looking toward Asian capital markets rather than defaulting to New York or London.

OPay, which is also backed by Chinese investors and operates heavily in Nigeria, has been exploring a US IPO targeting a $4 billion valuation, as reported earlier this year. PalmPay’s consideration of Hong Kong suggests the two companies, often described as direct competitors in Nigeria’s mobile money market, may also be taking different routes to public markets.

A Hong Kong listing would give PalmPay access to a deep pool of Asian institutional investors who are already familiar with the mobile payments business model from companies like Ant Group and WeChat Pay, and who may have a stronger appetite for African digital financial services than their Western counterparts.

Read also: How OPay and PalmPay became the quiet infrastructure behind Nigeria’s online gaming boom

It would also align with the interests of MediaTek and other Asian backers who have a stake in the company’s success.

For Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, PalmPay reaching unicorn status and moving toward a public listing is a significant signal. It confirms that the country’s mobile payments market, which has been intensely competitive and capital-intensive, is producing companies of a scale that global capital markets are willing to price and list.