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

The ongoing funding round, if completed, would make PalmPay the latest African fintech to achieve unicorn status. The company would join a small but expanding group of African technology firms valued above $1 billion, including Flutterwave, OPay, and Wave. Fintech has consistently attracted the largest share of venture capital flowing into African startups, reflecting investor confidence in the continent's underdeveloped financial infrastructure as a long-term growth opportunity.

Sources who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity, because the details are not yet public, indicated that a Hong Kong listing is being considered as the next step following the current fundraising effort.

Founded in Nigeria in 2019, PalmPay has rapidly expanded to become one of the country's most widely used mobile payment platforms, competing directly with OPay in both agent banking and consumer payments. The platform enables users to send money, pay bills, and access basic financial services through a mobile app, serving the substantial segment of Nigerians who remain outside the formal banking system or prefer mobile-first financial tools. Nigeria's Central Bank has pursued financial inclusion targets for years, aiming to bring a larger share of the adult population into the formal economy — a policy environment that has created a wide opening for mobile-first providers like PalmPay, OPay, and telecom-backed services such as MTN's MoMo.

MediaTek, the Taiwanese semiconductor company that supplies chips for a significant share of the world's Android smartphones, has been a key PalmPay backer since its early stages. The strategic partnership is rooted in a clear alignment: PalmPay's growth depends on smartphone adoption, and MediaTek's processors power many of the affordable Android devices through which Nigerians access digital financial services.

Why Hong Kong?

The selection of Hong Kong as a potential listing venue is noteworthy. It reflects a broader trend of African fintechs with Chinese-linked investors turning to Asian capital markets rather than defaulting to New York or London.

OPay, which also counts Chinese investors among its backers and operates extensively in Nigeria, has been exploring a U.S. IPO targeting a $4 billion valuation, as reported earlier this year. PalmPay's consideration of Hong Kong suggests that the two companies — frequently described as direct rivals in Nigeria's mobile money market — may be charting different paths to public markets.

A Hong Kong listing would provide PalmPay access to a deep pool of Asian institutional investors already familiar with mobile payment business models through companies such as Ant Group and WeChat Pay. The Hong Kong exchange has also implemented listing rule reforms in recent years designed to attract technology and emerging-market companies, which could make the venue more accessible for a fintech rooted in frontier markets. These investors may also have a stronger appetite for African digital financial services compared to their Western counterparts.

The move would further align with the interests of MediaTek and other Asian stakeholders invested in the company's long-term success.

For Nigeria's broader fintech ecosystem, PalmPay's potential ascent to unicorn status and progress toward a public listing carries considerable significance. It signals that the country's mobile payments market — long characterized by intense competition and heavy capital requirements — is producing companies of sufficient scale that global capital markets are prepared to value and list them.