Zeepay, a leading Ghanaian fintech, has completed a USD7.9 million Series A.0 fundraising round. To support its activities, the finance is a mix of stock and balance sheet capital. In 20 African markets, Zeepay facilitates digital remittances from the diaspora to mobile wallets, bank accounts, and visa cards.
The fundraise was spearheaded by I&P, an impact investing firm with over USD250 million in assets under management, and supported by ARK Holdings, a privately held family investment portfolio on behalf of Andrew Takyi-Appiah (Managing Director) and Zoe Takyi-Appiah in the amount of USD800,000.
“An exciting story on the continent, full of hope and inspiration for the New African — that is the young African looking to chart their own path through startups across the Continent”, said Andrew Takyi-Appiah, Managing Director and Founder of Zeepay.
He added that: “Our raise of USD7.9 million in Series A.0 gives Zeepay a strong capital table, ahead of closing our Series A.5 in the coming months. I am delighted to mention that the raise is coming at a time when we have successfully moved into our new Commercial Property in Accra. Our performance, I believe, is attributable to the Grace of God. Indeed, it is my wish that our Founding Chairman, Dr. Anthony Kwasi Appiah, was here today as we sign this deal. He played a pivotal role in getting the company to where it is today. May his soul continue to rest in peace. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Mr. Kwame Achampong-Kyei and the GLICO Group for their diligent support over the last 5years.”
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Here Is What You Need To Know
- A follow-on investment of USD800,000 was made by GOODsoil VC, an African-focused early-stage venture capital firm.
- The company raised USD3.3 million in debt, headed by Absa Bank Ghana in the amount of USD1.8 million and supported by First National Bank Ghana in the amount of USD1.5 million, to drive balance sheet activities primarily for liquidity needs.
- Prior to the fund campaign, Zeepay had successfully deployed a total of USD450,000 since its go-to-market in May 2016, achieving a cumulative average growth rate of around 146 percent over the five years leading up to these transactions.
“Our strategy remains to drive our remittance to digital assets agenda across Africa and the Caribbean and we are excited by the rate of expansion. We have a number of strategic acquisitions lined up and anticipate closing before year end. We look forward to being able to expand our operations beyond our current 20 countries and increase our active 30-day business from 13 markets to 20 plus markets across Africa. Indeed, what we celebrate today could not have been possible without the passing of the Payment Systems Act 2019, which has been a very progressive Government initiative,” Zeepay Chairman Mr. Yankey said.
A New Partnership With Paygilant
At the same time, Zeepay has partnered with Paygilant to protect its global operations in Africa and the United Kingdom. Paygilant will protect Zeepay’s digital payment infrastructure from digital fraud and provide customers with a seamless experience.
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Zeepay links digital assets including mobile money wallets, cards, ATMs, bank accounts, and digital tokens to international money transfer operators, payments, subscriptions, international airtime, and refugee payments. Zeepay looked for a reliable mobile fraud prevention solution that didn’t detract from the customer’s payment experience.
“Paygilant is an ideal fit for our needs, as its solution is versatile and designed with superb fraud prevention capabilities” said Andrew Takyi-Appiah, the Managing Director of Zeepay. “We wanted to safeguard and provide our customers the highest-level transaction experience.”
Paygilant’s solution is tailored to Fintech firms that must distinguish between genuine and fraudulent transactions throughout the customer journey. Paygilant helps FinTech companies build consumer confidence and drive growth while preventing money loss.
“We are honored to be working with forward-thinking organization like Zeepay” stated Ziv Cohen, Paygilant’s CEO. Ziv added “It is great to see Israeli high-tech and African Fintech joining forces.”
A Look At What Zeepay Does
Founded in 2014 by Andrew Takyi-Appiah, Zeepay focuses on using digital rails to connect digital assets. The company has a footprint in more than 20 African markets and, in April 2020, became the first indigenous company to be awarded the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) license to operate as a mobile financial services company by the Bank of Ghana, the regulator of banking and financial services.
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Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer