In brief: Apis hints at a new direction with pair of hires

Apis Partners, a financial inclusion focused private markets firm, has signalled a wider geographical remit with a couple of partner-level hires. The firm – which is among the 20 largest private markets impact firms in the world – has hired the founders of TechFin Investments, Adam Battersby and Theofilos Kotridis, as partners to invest in developed markets.

Battersby and Kotridis co-founded TechFin, with the goal of making growth investments in financial technology businesses, in 2020 after having held leadership positions in the principal investment units of Bank of America and Credit Suisse, respectively. The duo will focus on investments in the Europe and the US, said Apis in an announcement today, signalling a new direction for the firm, which to date has backed companies in emerging and growth economies across Africa and Asia.

In an email to New Private Markets, Apis co-founder Udayan Goyal described fintech as “increasingly becoming a sector without boundaries.”

“As we move into a world of open banking, the stratification of formerly siloed business models and the ubiquitous implementation of APIs, increasingly the lines between “discrete” financial services will blur in favour of themes such as embedded finance and holistic wellness,” wrote Goyal, noting that, as sector specialists, Apis sees “a tremendous growth opportunity across Europe, North America and the world at large.”

Last year the firm hired a financial services-focused team from Actis.