Nigerian retail-tech company OmniRetail has announced the acquisition of Traction Apps, a move aimed at enhancing its digital services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the continent. OmniRetail, founded in 2019, provides B2B solutions to address key challenges within Africa’s commerce value chain, with a particular focus on supporting informal retailers.
Through its flagship platform Omnibiz, alongside tools like OmniPay and Mplify, OmniRetail offers retailers essential resources to procure products, build credit, and optimize their operations for growth. Currently, the startup boasts over 140,000 small retailers and 90 brands on its platform, positioning itself as a significant player in the retail tech space.
The acquisition of Traction Apps, a startup co-founded by Mayowa Alli and Dolapo Adejuyigbe in 2020, will allow OmniRetail to integrate Traction’s merchant POS services into its OmniPay ecosystem. Traction Apps provides over 100,000 merchants with a one-stop platform for payment acceptance, lending, and retail software solutions. This merger is expected to enhance financial services for retailers, allowing them to simplify payments, access credit, and scale their businesses.
“This acquisition represents the culmination of a strong partnership with Traction. What began as an integration of Traction’s POS into OmniPay has grown into a full merger. Together, we will offer retailers and SMEs simplified payments, credit access, and loyalty solutions to help them thrive in a rapidly digitizing market,” said Deepankar Rustagi, CEO of OmniRetail.
Co-founder of Traction, Mayowa Alli, noted that the merger will enable the startup to scale its offerings and provide more comprehensive solutions to small businesses across Nigeria. His co-founder, Dolapo Adejuyigbe, echoed this sentiment, stating that the collaboration would solidify their position as a key growth partner for SMEs.
The combined entity will now serve over 180,000 customers across wholesale and retail sectors, cementing its leadership in Nigeria’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. Traction’s founding team will join OmniRetail’s leadership, focusing on the growth of OmniPay, product development, and integrating the two platforms.
Dika Oha, OmniRetail’s chief platform officer, highlighted the importance of Traction’s fintech expertise in driving innovation and growth within the company. Ventures Platform, a key investor in both OmniRetail and Traction, played a pivotal role in bringing the two companies together.
“This acquisition underscores our commitment to creating stronger solutions for African SMEs by leveraging the strengths of our portfolio companies,” said Dotun Olowoporoku, partner at Ventures Platform.
The integration of Traction’s services into OmniPay will roll out in phases, starting with platform consolidation and eliminating redundancies. Full integration is expected by the end of Q1 2025, with expanded services available to customers shortly after.
“As part of this acquisition, Traction’s investors will benefit from both debt and equity in the combined entity, allowing them to share in the continued growth of the business,” Rustagi added.
This strategic merger marks a major step forward for OmniRetail as it continues to drive innovation and empower African SMEs.
