Lesaka buys Touchsides from Heineken in taverns push

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GUEST - Lincoln Mali – Lesaka SA CEO JSE-listed fintech Lesaka Technologies said on Tuesday that it has bought 100%
of  Touchsides , a data analytics and merchant services company, from beverages giant
Heineken International.
The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Lesaka said Touchsides and its own Kazang business are “highly complementary”, with the
acquisition expected to “significantly expand Kazang’s footprint in the tavern industry in
South Africa’s informal market”.
Touchsides has an active base of over 10 000 point-of-sale terminals across South Africa’s
informal licensed taverns, and processes more than 1.5 million transactions a day, Lesaka
said.
The data and insights gathered from these terminals carries significant value and potential
to be monetised
“The business provides platform-as-a-service and software-as-a-service solutions to licensed
tavern outlets, enabling the measurement of sales activity in real time, management of
stock levels, and informing commercial decisions, such as pricing and promotional offers.
“The data and insights gathered from these terminals carries significant value and potential
to be monetised through relationships with a range of clients, including fast-moving
consumer goods companies, retailers, wholesalers, route-to-market suppliers and
financiers.
6 Feb 2024 12PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

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