Technology investment company Hyperclear has acquired Principa – a South African data and analytics software business with operations in South Africa, the UK and the Middle East – from Apex Partners Holdings.
The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Principa hogged the limelight in 2018, when its data scientists used predictive analytics to predict Rugby World Cup scores.
According to Matthew Mead, CEO of Hyperclear, the acquisition unlocks new opportunities across Hyperclear’s group companies.
“Principa is an industry leader in providing data-driven solutions to the retail credit industry, with two decades of experience across multiple markets. By blending this with Hyperclear’s established capabilities in hyper-automation, infrastructure and security, we expect this deal to create additional value for the group’s clients in new industries,” says Mead.
Hyperclear is a global technology investment holding company headquartered in Mauritius, with regional offices in South Africa and the UK.
The company has a portfolio of businesses, ranging from managed service providers, to business productivity and automation. Companies currently in the Hyperclear portfolio include Cyberlogic, Cogent, 6dot50, Nuventiv and Talentank.
Jaco Rossouw, CEO of Principa, says: “In Hyperclear, we have found a strategic owner with deep expertise across a range of technologies and capabilities that support and augment Principa’s offerings.
“Some of our existing clients are already reaping the benefits of Hyperclear's offerings in the RPA [robotic process automation] and managed cloud services space, and we look forward to an exciting season of growth through innovation, disruption and market-beating solutions.”
Mead sees the deal as an opportunity to further the group’s mission of using technology to unlock human potential by extending access to digital and financial services to the larger South African population.
“A large portion of our population still struggles to access basic digital financial services. We see opportunities to leverage Principa’s technical expertise and domain knowledge in retail credit to enhance product offerings in other portfolio companies. For example, through 6dot50’s transactional voucher platform, we could apply data and analytics to extend tailored financial products to consumers excluded from formal banking or transactional services.”
Mead adds: “True financial and digital inclusion still escapes a large portion of SA’s and Africa's population. Therefore, we strive to create synergies between a broad range of solutions our group companies offer to achieve our vision of unlocking human potential through technology.”
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