At least three firms are in a race to acquire and finance the troubled consumer credit provider Lipa Later, with offers of up to Sh3 billion made for the firm, which is currently under administration.
Documents seen by the Business Daily show that a Canadian financial services firm Engage Capital and a Kenyan-based financial consultancy firm have expressed interest in buying the start-up, almost four months after it was placed under administration.
London-based investment management firm Advance Global Capital has also offered to finance the collapsed company.
Lipa Later was placed under administration in March 2025 due to undisclosed debts, with Joy Vipinchandra Bhatt of Moore JVB Consulting appointed as the administrator. Following the action, Moore JVB Consulting called on creditors to submit their claims by April 23, 2025.
In its intent letter dated May 16, 2025, Engage Capital made an offer of $24.5 million (Sh3.17 billion) to acquire Lipa Later, targeting its fintech platform, customers and intellectual property.
“Proposed structure: Acquisition of target’s fintech platform, customer base, intellectual property, licence acquisition, clearance of company liabilities (subject to due diligence), loan book (excluding non-performing loans as mutually agreed), and associated operations,” Engage Capital said in the letter of intent.
Engage Capital says the acquisition will be subject to due diligence, regulatory approvals and confirmation of funding.
Invoice factoring loan
Advance Global Capital has also offered to provide a Sh646 million loan to Lipa Later, with the money secured by the consumer credit firm’s receivables.
On April 10, 2025, Advance Global Capital offered to provide $5 million (Sh646 million) to finance invoice factoring transactions of Lipa Later. Invoice factoring involves a company selling its outstanding invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash.
The 36-month facility, Advance Global Capital said in the intent letter, would include an immediate $3 million release, followed by a further $2 million one year after the loan documents are signed.
“Purpose of the facility: To finance the invoice factoring and invoice factoring transactions of Lipa Later (no consumer loans). A facility limit of $5,000,000 with an initial facility limit of $3,000,000. Facility to be increased after at least 12 months from the signature of the facility documents,” it says.
The investor also states that the funding would cover the start-up’s expansion strategy to serve other East African countries, such as Uganda and Rwanda.
Lipa Later offers hire purchase services to consumers by paying the retailer upfront and then collecting instalment payments from the buyer.
By the time it was placed under administration, the company had just secured Sh1.9 billion in equity and debt financing over three rounds, ostensibly for expansion into new African markets.
Ms Bhatt declined to respond to Business Daily’s questions about how many investors have shown interest in acquiring the start-up and the progress of negotiations so far, citing an ongoing court case.
“As there is a pertinent matter in court, I would not be able to engage in a substantial response without prejudicing and pre-empting my responses in court,” she said.
Kenyan firm
While Lipa Later founder Eric Muli did not directly confirm details of the planned acquisition, he did say that talks began before the start-up was placed under administration.
Mr Muli, however, hinted that a Kenyan financial consultancy firm had made a Sh2.5 billion offer to acquire Lipa Later, but did not provide further information.
“I’m not at liberty to speak on the matter, but what I can confirm is that we had been at advanced conversations with potential acquirers even prior to the administration,” he said.
Lipa Later raised its first seed capital of $40,000 (Sh5.2 million at current rates) in April 2019, before bagging another funding of $12 million (Sh1.6 billion) in January 2022 and a $3.4 million (Sh439.3 million) conventional debt in September 2023.
