Zimbabwean fintech startup, Payitup, has joined the league of the few startups in Africa to procure some of the largest funding.
The latest round of funding is around US$13 million from the UK-based Thawer Fund Management. The new round of funding is the largest ever by any startup in Zimbabwe. This would put the startup’s value at US$20 million . Although Payitup has secured seed funding in the past, it has faced challenges securing this larger round.
What Payitup Does
The startup which was launched in 2017, processes payments for DStv, broadband and airtime. The startup plans to commit the funds to system development and operations. The startup also has planned to recruit partners across various verticals, and stands to benefit from its relationship with Thawer Fund Management in more ways than just the obvious financial one.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Payitup Aretha Gonyora said:
“Our goal is to build a more connected financial life for the African people and beyond. Through our mobile and web applications our customers will be able to pay for various goods and services, access loans, investments, insurance and a wide range of financial products. We will be working towards financial inclusion for all and maximising on technology. A lot of people still do not have access to basic financial services, while the people with access to banking services are not fully capitalising on the power of technology.”
Most of the funded startups in Africa between January and June 2018 were in the above sectors
Payitup Expansion
The startup plans to remain focused on Zimbabwe in the meantime, but also plans to open its platform to customers in several southern African countries, and ultimately the rest of Africa in the next five years.
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Its revenue model will be based on transaction and service fees, and premium subscriptions on selected goods and services, with Gonyora having faith in Payitup’s app-based approach in spite of challenges.
“Not everyone in Zimbabwe uses a smartphone, which has made USSD preferable over mobile applications. This combined with how expensive data has become in Zimbabwe means that our users’ access to the application may be a barrier. Fortunately, we saw this coming and have put in place favourable measures to buffer all our customers to have access to our services,” she said.
The startup also plans to commit a significant amount of the funds to grow the business in terms of awareness campaigns, rebates offered to customers, and other strategic products to gain traction and usage on the app.
This Round of Funding Is So Significant Because It Is So Difficult For Startups To Get Funding In Zimbabwe
According to Gonyora:
“We had been engaging our investor for over a year. The startup ecosystem in Zimbabwe is not that vibrant at the moment, and the current economic condition makes it difficult to get funding. There is still hope. What saw us through in the back and forth of the last 15 months was a combination of having a strong vision and finding people that believed in us.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.