Peleza merges with YC-backed Prembly to form Prembly Group

Kenyan identity management startup, Peleza has merged with YC-backed Prembly to form the Prembly Group. Both companies declined to provide the specific financial details of the transaction.

While Prembly provides identity verification, security, and compliance, Peleza conducts background checks for businesses. Peleza has key partnerships in East Africa with mobility apps Uber and Bolt and logistics corporation FedEx. With this merger, the Prembly group will build a bigger East African business using Peleza’s industry knowledge and improve customer service offerings.

Over the last 18 months, Peleza has been using Prembly’s infrastructure.

“This merger serves as an extension of that collaboration and our longstanding partnership, providing an opportunity to expand service offerings to customers across various markets and globally,” Peleza’s founder Marita Mutemi told TechCabal.

“Merging both companies significantly increases our options and value, positioning us as the most used provider across Pan-Africa and achieving leader status in this space,” said Lanre Ogungbe, the co-founder and CEO of Prembly.

Ogungbe has been appointed the CEO of Prembly Group. Marita Mutemi, the founder and CEO of Peleza, will join the Prembly Group as CFO and double as the CEO of Prembly East Africa. “Other executives from Peleza have been reassigned and retained their leadership roles, ensuring continuity and stability,” Mutemi told TechCabal.

The merger creates a combined team of about 100 employees. Ogungbe and Marita disclosed that at least ten employees will be let go because their roles have been duplicated because of the merger. Those staff members will receive a severance package.

“The decision to name the entity Prembly Group is borne out of a mutual agreement to leverage the brand equity and established market presence of Prembly, especially given its global recognition in compliance and digital security solutions,” said Ogungbe.

There are plans to integrate the KYC/B technology platforms for both companies.

Peleza is the older of the two companies; it was founded in 2015 and has not disclosed funding from venture capital firms. Prembly was founded in 2021 and raised a $2.8 million seed round in 2022, backed by MaC Venture Capital and Soma Capital.