What SMSGH Solutions Limited does

SMSGH Solutions Limited, trading as Hubtel, is a Ghanaian fintech and eCommerce company founded in 2005 by Alex Bram and Ernest Apenteng at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Originally launched as an SMS messaging platform under the SMSGH brand, the company rebranded to Hubtel in May 2017 and pivoted toward an integrated digital payments, point-of-sale, and commerce platform serving scale-ready Ghanaian businesses and consumers. The company is privately held, maintains Ghanaian ownership, and reports headcount in excess of 270 employees across eight cities in Ghana, plus a regional office in Nairobi, Kenya established in 2017, with additional operational presence in Cameroon and Nigeria. Hubtel was described as Ghana's largest fintech by transaction turnover and revenue by end of 2022, processing approximately 8.3% of all successful Ghanaian mobile money payments in 2021 across a customer base exceeding 7,979 businesses and 4 million annual users.

The Hubtel platform combines a consumer-facing mobile application (Hubtel App), merchant-facing tools (Hubtel BackOffice / Merchant Portal and Hubtel POS), and a developer-facing API layer, supported by messaging services under the MYtxtBOX sub-brand and bank-to-bank QR payments via myGhQR.com (built with Ghana Interbank Payments and Settlement Systems, GhIPSS). Its core technology aggregates all major Ghanaian payment rails — MTN Momo, Telecel Cash, AirtelTigo Money, Visa, Mastercard, GhQR, and cash — into a single payment collection and reconciliation system built on an ISO 8583-compatible banking layer that enables hourly settlements. The platform supports multi-branch inventory management with expiry alerts, recurring billing and installments, buy-now-pay-later (Hubtel Pay Small Small), commission-based resale of digital services (airtime, data, utilities, pay TV, lottery, betting, insurance), and same-day eCommerce delivery. Hubtel holds a full Enhanced Payment Services Provider license from the Bank of Ghana (April 2022), PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and Ghana Data Protection Commission certifications, and operates a Kenya Telecom VAS license.

Hubtel generates revenue through transaction-based fees (1% capped at GHS 10 for QR payments), usage-based bulk SMS pricing with bundled discounts, commissions on resold digital services, and eCommerce marketplace transactions. Distribution combines a self-serve product-led model (mobile apps, USSD *713*000#, developer APIs) with a physical footprint of 12 office locations and Customer Experience Centers. Recent strategic priorities include the Ghana.GOV government payments platform (jointly with ExpressPay and IT Consortium), Visa and Mastercard card partnerships, BNPL expansion, and the launch of the Hubtel AI Lab — Ghana's first indigenous AI research facility, per company disclosure.

Name

SMSGH Solutions Limited

Legal name

SMSGH Solutions Limited

Website

https://smsgh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SMSGH Solutions Limited (trading as Hubtel) is a Ghanaian fintech and eCommerce company operating an integrated payments, POS, and commerce platform serving scale-ready businesses and consumers across Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, and Nigeria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Payment and Digital Commerce Platform

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (FSAGABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

QR Code & Alternative In-Store Acceptance (QR, APMs) (FSAMADAH), Digital Wallet Platforms (Consumer & Merchant) (BPAMAFAC), BNPL Consumer Apps & Wallets (Discovery, Management) (FSAGAIAG)

Keywords

• Mobile payment processing
• Point of sale systems
• Digital commerce platform
• Bulk SMS messaging
• Mobile money aggregation

Headquarters

HQ city

Accra

HQ country

Ghana

HQ region

Africa

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing Transaction Fees: Hubtel charges transaction fees on payments processed through its platform. Industry standard GHQR fees of 1% capped at GHS 10 for highest transaction values apply.
2. Commission on Digital Services: Retailers earn attractive instant commissions for selling digital services (airtime, data, utilities, pay TV, lottery, betting, insurance) from their Hubtel POS. Commission rates vary by service provider and are calculated as inclusive or exclusive of customer cost.
3. Bulk SMS Messaging: SMS bundles offered at discounted rates (up to 40% savings compared to standard rates). Standard rate of GHS 0.03 for local messages without bundle. Monthly and quarterly bundle options available with rollover capability.
4. eCommerce Platform: Hubtel operates an eCommerce platform connecting consumers with local stores, restaurants, and service providers. Revenue generated from transactions on the platform including delivery services and merchant partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SMSGH Solutions Limited (trading as Hubtel) offers an integrated fintech and eCommerce platform that unifies bulk SMS messaging, multi-network mobile payment aggregation (MTN Momo, Telecel Cash, AT Money), bank card processing (Visa, Mastercard), GhQR code payments, and point-of-sale systems on a single platform. The platform serves businesses through Hubtel POS, BackOffice Merchant Portal, and Developer APIs for inventory management, sales tracking, and multi-branch operations, while consumers use the Hubtel App for food ordering, bill payments, money transfers, and airtime purchases. The platform is operated by the Bank of Ghana-licensed Enhanced Payment Services Provider and is supported across 12 Ghanaian offices plus East Africa and West Africa regional offices.

Product overview

SMSGH Solutions Limited (trading as Hubtel) is a Ghanaian fintech and eCommerce company operating a unified super-app platform serving both businesses and consumers. The core Hubtel platform is architected as a modular ecosystem with three primary layers: (1) Hubtel App — a consumer-facing mobile application for ordering food and groceries, paying bills, sending money, and buying airtime/data with same-day delivery; (2) Hubtel BackOffice/Merchant Portal — a web-based business dashboard paired with Hubtel POS for point-of-sale operations, inventory management, and multi-branch oversight; and (3) the Messaging suite — Hubtel's bulk SMS and communications services (including MYtxtBOX). The platform is organized around three business outcome pillars — Clarity, Control, and Growth — which are delivered through integrated modules for payments (mobile money, cards, GhQR), inventory, customer engagement, and digital services. Supporting offerings include myGhQR.com (bank-to-bank QR payments), Hubtel Commission Services (reselling digital services), Pay Small Small (BNPL), Hubtel Academy (training), and the Hubtel AI Lab (AI R&D).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MYtxtBOX: Business communications platform offering SMS, email, and voice messaging services for brands and businesses.
• myGhQR.com
• Hubtel Pledge

Products and services

• Hubtel App (Consumer Mobile Application) A consumer-facing mobile application that enables individual Ghanaian users to order food and groceries with fast delivery (within 60 minutes), pay bills (electricity, water, TV, internet, insurance), send money to any bank, top up airtime and data, and track orders in real time. Available on iOS, Android, and Huawei AppGallery.
• Hubtel BackOffice / Merchant Portal A web-based business dashboard enabling merchants to manage sales, inventory, customers, branches, staff, approvals, and reporting. Offers a mobile-friendly interface with improved organization of features for merchants running small to large operations.
• Hubtel POS A mobile point-of-sale application with a web management dashboard enabling businesses of any size to accept payments from all mobile money wallets (MTN Momo, Telecel Cash, AT Money) and bank cards (Visa, Mastercard), track sales and inventory, manage staff permissions, and process orders for pickup or delivery.
• Hubtel eCommerce Platform An eCommerce platform merging in-store and online shopping experiences with fast same-day delivery, enabling retailers to sell via web store, mobile app, and USSD with integrated payments and order management.
• myGhQR.com Ghana's first self-service portal for direct bank-to-bank transfers via GhQR code, developed by Hubtel in collaboration with Ghana Interbank Payments and Settlement Systems (GhIPPS). Enables merchants and individuals to generate, print, and display a GhQR code to receive instant bank payments at a fee of 1% capped at GHS 10.
• Hubtel Messaging / Bulk SMS (MYtxtBOX) Hubtel's bulk SMS messaging service (operating under the MYtxtBOX sub-brand) enabling businesses to send text, multimedia, and voice messages to customers, with support for contact group management, scheduling, automation, and SMS bundles at discounted rates of up to 40% off standard rates.
• Hubtel Developer APIs Public-facing developer API platform including HTTP API Keys for messaging integration, Recurring Payments APIs for installment billing, Commission Services API for reselling digital services, GhIPSS Instant Pay integration for payment processing, and API Security Alerts for unauthorized access notifications. Self-service API key management allows developers to add, change, or delete API credentials.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processing 8.3% of Ghana's mobile money payments by 2021
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration25 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ghana Interbank Payments and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS)coreTechnology or Integration · 14 June 2021Collaboration with GhIPSS to manage myGhQR.com service for direct bank-to-bank QR code payments. GhIPSS manages the national GhQR payment gateway enabling interoperability across all Ghanaian banks and financial technology providers.
• ExpressPaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2021Partnered with Hubtel and IT Consortium to build Ghana.GOV platform, Government's maiden fully-integrated payments processing and settlements platform. Designed to enable all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to process digital payments and manage revenue collection.
• IT ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2021Partnered with Hubtel and ExpressPay to build Ghana.GOV platform for government digital services and revenue collection. Three leading Ghanaian FinTech companies collaborated to address revenue leakages in government collections.
• VisacoreTechnology or Integration · 28 April 2021Hubtel entered into partnership with Visa to expand access to seamless payments on its eCommerce platform. The partnership provides consumers with access to more merchant services and allows Hubtel to explore innovative payment services including 'tap to phone' to reduce cash dependency among small businesses. Visa's trusted security tools and solutions enhance transaction security for Hubtel customers.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or Integration · 25 July 2018Mastercard activated on Hubtel platform enabling customers to pay with Mastercard debit and credit cards across all Hubtel merchant locations.
• MTN BusinesscoreTechnology or Integration · 2 June 2018Partnership with MTN Business to power automated revenue collection at tourist attractions including Wli Water Falls. Hubtel POS enables visitors to pay with any mobile money wallet, bank card, or cash, with SMS receipts sent for every transaction.
• Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Ghana)coreOthersPartnership with the Ministry of Tourism to deploy automated revenue collection devices at Wli Water Falls and Cape Coast/Elmina Castles. The initiative tracks tourist numbers and monitors revenue generation from tourist attractions.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments company operating payment infrastructure, merchant acquiring, and digital banking services. Comparable to Hubtel's payment aggregation and enterprise/government-focused solutions.
• Interswitch: Largest African digital payments and commerce company (Nigeria-headquartered), operating payment processing, POS, and merchant acquiring across multiple African markets. Highly comparable to Hubtel's merchant aggregation and payment gateway model, with broader geographic footprint.
• OPay: Nigeria-based mobile payment and super-app platform offering consumer wallet, merchant POS, and on-demand services. Closely comparable to Hubtel's combined consumer app + merchant POS strategy.
• Chipper Cash: Pan-African cross-border payments and consumer fintech app. Comparable to Hubtel as a multi-country African fintech serving both consumer and merchant payments use cases.
• Paystack: Nigeria-founded payment gateway (now part of Stripe) serving African merchants with online and in-person payment acceptance. Closely comparable to Hubtel's payment gateway and developer API platform for African SMBs.
• PalmPay: African mobile payment and consumer wallet platform with strong merchant acquisition focus. Comparable to Hubtel's mobile money aggregation and consumer-facing super-app model.
• Flutterwave: Pan-African payment technology company enabling businesses to accept and process payments across multiple channels and currencies. Comparable to Hubtel's payment orchestration and multi-method aggregation, with strong developer/API-led GTM.
• Zeepay: Ghana-headquartered mobile money and digital payments company focused on cross-border remittances and merchant payments. Compares directly to Hubtel as a leading Ghanaian fintech operating in payments aggregation and regulatory licensing.

Broad incumbents

• M-Pesa (Vodacom/Safaricom): East Africa's dominant mobile money platform. Comparable to Hubtel as a payments/super-app incumbent in its geography, with overlapping ambitions in merchant payments, lending, and eCommerce.
• MTN Mobile Money (MoMo): Africa's largest mobile money operator with dominant share in Ghana. Both a Hubtel partner and potential competitor as MTN expands merchant services and MoMo APIs that could disintermediate Hubtel's aggregation layer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smsgh-solutions-limited

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SMSGH Solutions Limited