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Ghana’s Injaro Backs Local FinTech Zeepay with $2M Investment

October 28, 2023

Injaro Investment Advisors, a Ghanaian private capital fund manager, has made a significant announcement regarding their investment in Zeepay Ghana Limited, a wholly Ghanaian-owned global mobile finance service (MFS) provider. This investment amounts to a substantial $2 million equity infusion into Zeepay as part of their Series A.5 fundraising round.

This momentous step represents Injaro’s inaugural investment from its Injaro Ghana Venture Capital Fund (IGVCF). In doing so, they are joining a consortium of international investors who are participating in Zeepay’s ongoing fundraising efforts. Zeepay is a pioneering player in the digital termination of remittance (DTR) sector and the mobile money market, extending its reach to more than 20 countries across the globe.

Since its establishment in 2014, Zeepay has specialized in facilitating cross-border payments directly into mobile wallets, serving regions spanning Africa and the Caribbean. The core vision of Zeepay revolves around fostering financial inclusion and revolutionizing cross-border payments, particularly in underserved, low-income markets.

The equity investment by Injaro holds the promise of fueling Zeepay’s expansion across multiple countries and reinforcing its presence in these new markets. Injaro’s statement underlines that this investment aligns perfectly with IGVCF’s strategic approach, which focuses on collaborating with Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) demonstrating credible growth potential. These enterprises often operate in sectors like Inclusive Financial Services, Food and Agribusiness, Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Industrial Services.

Andrew Takyi-Appiah, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Zeepay — *Andrew Takyi-Appiah is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Zeepay. Images: Zeepay*

Jerry Parkes, the Managing Director of Injaro Investment Advisors, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership with Zeepay, which is spearheaded by Andrew Takyi-Appiah, a dynamic and visionary young Ghanaian entrepreneur. Parkes described their joint aspiration to build a successful Ghanaian multinational and become a frontrunner in the fintech industry.

Parkes emphasized the importance of financing Zeepay with Ghanaian capital, which ensures that the investment’s profits circulate within the local economy, fostering a virtuous cycle of economic development. He added that this investment signifies a significant initial step towards establishing connections between Ghana’s pension funds and remarkable local businesses that are pivotal drivers of Ghana’s economic growth.

Andrew Takyi-Appiah, the Co-Founder and CEO of Zeepay, expressed his delight at having a Ghanaian local private equity investor on board. He regarded this as a testament to the strength of their brand, especially in the prevailing economic conditions. Takyi-Appiah also highlighted the investment’s symbolic importance in demonstrating Ghana’s confidence in its own businesses and thanked Injaro for translating that belief into a tangible reality.

As a testament to Zeepay’s outstanding performance, the company currently holds the top position in Ghana’s Club100 list and stands as the second-largest mobile finance service (MFS) provider in the country in terms of revenue. Their achievements were further acknowledged as they were named the “Brand of the Year” at the 2023 EMYAfrica Awards.

In 2022, Injaro Investments, an Africa-focused private equity and private credit fund manager, announced the launch of its third fund of USD20 million, backed by local pension funds and a first of its kind for Ghana. According to Jerry Parkes, CEO of the fund, the fund is created to support mission-focused SMEs.

Established in 2009, Injaro Investments (Injaro) is a private equity firm focused on SME investments in Africa. The fund’s investment approach is built on the provision of finance, business assistance, and capacity building to highpotential SMEs.

The fund has invested largely in business concepts that fundamentally benefit small scale farmers across West Africa, with several of them being located in relatively poor Sahelian countries. The portfolio therefore comprises enterprises in the poultry value chain, seed cultivation, and shea butter processing.

“Our investment in Nafaso, a company in Burkina Faso, tells one of the more inspiring stories. The founder, who started out as a subsistence farmer, grew to become the largest seed producer in Burkina Faso and is now a regional supplier of seeds with exports across ECOWAS member states, including Liberia and Nigeria. The company had created significant impact (over 350,000 beneficiaries) and grown its top line by three times over the investment period. Our most recent achievement was when the London Stock Exchange published its inaugural edition of the Companies to Inspire Africa report. 11 out of 300 featured companies in the report were in the agriculture sector, and 5 of them were part of the Injaro portfolio — Agricare, Comptoir 2000, Faso Kaba, Nafaso, and Proveto,” Jerry Parkes said.

Zeepay Injaro

Ghana’s Injaro Investments Launches $20m Pension-Backed VC Fund

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard

Verdant Capital Raises $10 Million Debt Funding for Zeepay

August 12, 2022

Verdant Capital has raised USD 10 million of debt funding for Zeepay. The medium-term debt raise, which forms part of its A.5 series, comes to support Zeepay in a bid to augment its fast-growing remittance to wallet business.

The debt funding is intended to support the rapid growth of the business. In 2021, the company processed USD 1.8 billion of transaction volumes, cross-border and domestically. It is the vision of the Founder and Managing Director of Zeepay, Andrew Takyi-Appiah I, to reach the milestone of USD 200 billion of annual transaction volumes in the long-term.

Godfried Boakye, Zeepay’s CFO, said: “The raise has become mission critical as we expand our service offering and African expansion.”

Zeepay’s business is enjoying multiple growth drivers, including growth in the number of mobile wallets in recipient populations, as well as growth in the termination of the wallet as a percentage of global remittances. Zeepay is also expanding its value-added services (VAS) including credit offering and broadening and deepening its footprint in Africa (now terminating into 20 African countries). Zeepay is also expanding into the important Caribbean and Latin American markets.

Kwabena Appenteng, of Verdant Capital, said: “We are delighted to see the close of this component of the round, and urge local financial institutions and pension funds to find their niche, to enable them to participate alongside international lenders in the future as we work to deepen the African fintech ecosystem”.

JLD & MB Legal Consultancy, acted as legal counsel to Zeepay in connection with the funding, led by Zoe P. Takyi-Appiah, a senior partner at the firm.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ghanaian Fintech Startup Zeepay Secures $10M Debt Round To Expand Remittance Services

August 10, 2022

Zeepay, a Ghanaian mobile financial services company that specialises in offering integrated mobile payment services, has raised $10 million, with Symbiotics BV leading the way with USD 9 million and a Mauritius-based fund investing USD 1 million, for a total of USD 10 million.

The Series A.5 medium term debt raise is intended to help Zeepay expand its rapidly expanding remittance to wallet business.

Founder and Managing Director, Andrew Takyi-Appiah

“The raise was necessary and comes at the time when we are planning to increase our annual turnover from USD 1.5 billion circa 2021 to USD 200 billion over the next 5 years,” Founder and Managing Director, Andrew Takyi-Appiah said.

Why The Investors Invested

Kwabena Appenteng, Transaction Advisor at Verdant Capital, said: ”We are delighted to see the close of this component of the round, and urge local financial institutions and pension funds to find their niche, to enable them to participate alongside international lenders in the future as we work to deepen the African fintech ecosystem”.

“The raise had become mission critical as we expand our service offering and African expansion and well within a manageable Loan to value ratio of 9%. This will help augment support from local African Banks the likes of Ecobank, Fidelity Bank and Absa,” Godfried Boakye, CFO, added.

A Look At What Zeepay Does

The 2014-founded business enables the processing of numerous mobile phone payments and functions as an aggregator, bringing all transactions from all parties together on a single platform. The business’s main application, which utilises open source software, was created to link different payment systems, banks, retailers, mobile network operators (MNOs), and other businesses with subscriber-based transactions.

Zeepay has a presence in more than 20 African nations and, in April 2020, became the first locally-owned business to be granted the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) licence by the Bank of Ghana to operate as a provider of mobile financial services.

Ghanaian Fintech Startup Zeepay Is Now Present In Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Guyana, And Trinidad and Tobago

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Ghanaian Fintech Startup Zeepay Is Now Present In Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Guyana, And Trinidad and Tobago

June 20, 2022

Andrew Takyi-Appiah, Managing Director and Founder of Zeepay.

The central bank of Barbados has authorised the fintech company Zeepay to establish its Zeemoney Caribbean headquarters on the island.

In a press release, the Ghana-based firm, which claims to be one of the world’s fastest-growing fintech companies, stated that its activities in Barbados were expected to stimulate the fintech ecosystem while creating approximately 10,000 employment.

Andrew Takyi-Appiah, co-founder and chief executive officer, stated that remittances and diaspora payments remained an important source of foreign money and household income for developing nations worldwide.

In 2020, the World Bank predicted that remittance inflows into low- and middle-income countries will surpass US$540 billion, notwithstanding the covid19 epidemic.

“Our Barbados company, Zeemoney, will position itself to act as a bridge between Africa and the people of the Caribbean by making it easier for individuals to receive and send funds to friends and family abroad and improve access across 200 corridors globally. Currently, Barbados alone receives about US$216 million in remittances and is anticipated to grow through this arrangement. Zeemoney will open the country for ease of receipt of international remittances and help improve last-minute access, which hither to had been a bane as evidenced in the long queues experienced during collection,” he said.

He stated that Zeepay’s parent firm, with its emphasis on innovation and technology, boosted its sales volume to $400 million in 2020, connecting international money transfer operators to digital assets such as mobile money wallets, cards, ATMs, and global tokens.

In addition to its registered presence in Grenada, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago, Zeepay is also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom and various regulators in Africa. It operates in twenty African nations.

“Our long-term Caribbean objective is to become the number-one remittance-to-wallet player in the region and to facilitate this we will leverage our global presence, while exploring mergers and acquisitions of other mobile financial service operators and green field operations. The company was “excited by the Caribbean’s great potential for the sustained promotion of financial inclusion, and we see Barbados as a strategic gateway for the rest of the region, with transformational and visionary leadership that enjoys growing international respect and a stable economy that’s receptive to innovation and technology,” Takyi-Appiah.

Zeepay Barbados Zeepay Barbados

How Regulations Killed Egyptian Toy Ecommerce Startup Tasala Three Years After It Was Started

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Ghanaian Fintech Startup Zeepay Raises $7.9m, Partners With Israel’s Paygilant To Boost Operations In Africa And UK

June 30, 2021

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.”
Read also:A Chance For African Fintech Startups To Participate In Inclusive Fintech 50 2021 Contest

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.

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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How Can Foreign Remittance Companies Partner With Local Fintech Startups In Ghana, Without Physical Presence?

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

Why Ghanaian Startup, Zeepay, Acquired 51% Stake In Zambian Fintech Mangwee

April 21, 2021

Barely a year after procuring Ghana’s first everDedicated Electronic Money Issuers (DEMI) license, financial services company Zeepay has acquired 51% stake in its Zambian counterpart, Mangwee Mobile Money, which is also involved in the provision of financial and payment services.

Zeepay, which is present in Africa and the United Kingdom, will become the majority shareholder of Mangwee, which was set up in 2018 to facilitate mobile payment operations for the benefit of students.

The acquisition of Mangwee is strategic and opens the South African corridor to Zeepay. This will give the startup access to Mozambique, Malawi, Angola and Namibia, among others.

“We will continue our efforts to capture the $70 billion remittance market in Africa and seize this opportunity to deploy our products,” said Andrew Takyi-Appiah (photo), co-founder and CEO of Zeepay.

The decision to invest in Mangwee is part of Zeepay’s Africa-wide expansion strategy. It is working to expand its footprint on the continent to better serve its customers and reduce the cost of remittances in Africa.

Earlier this year, Zeepay announced its intention to continue its activities in South Africa and Rwanda, and was seeking $10 million to support its development project.

In 2020, it processed 2.4 million transactions valued at $400 million in 10 African markets. Fintech hopes to double its transactions in 2021. As part of this buy-back operation, South Africa’s Verdant Capital acted as counsel on mergers and acquisitions of Zeepay.

In 2019, before the coronavirus shawled the world, Nigeria was Africa’s largest recipient of remittance flows with $23.8 billion followed by Ghana ($3.5 billion), with Kenya receiving $2.8 billion, even though Ghana is the 14th most populated country in Africa, behind countries like Egypt, South Africa, etc.

How Can Foreign Remittance Companies Partner With Local Fintech Startups In Ghana, Without Physical Presence?

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

ZeePay, Ghanaian Fintech Startup Raise Seed Funding for Expansion

December 25, 2020

The emerging Ghanaian fintech startup Zeepay has raised a US$940,000 seed funding round to enable it to continue to scale and roll out its services across the Ghana, and expand into more countries in Africa. The startup which is focused on digital rails to connect digital assets such as mobile money wallets, cards, ATMs, bank accounts and digital tokens to international money transfer operators, payments, subscriptions, international airtime and refugee payments plans to scale up to the next level of its mandate, says its management.

ZeePAY already has a footprint in more than 20 African markets, and in April 2020 was awarded an 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. The seed round from GOODsoil VC, an Africa-focused early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017, will enable Zeepay to continue to scale. The startup has a United Kingdom (UK) launch planned for 2021.

Andrew Takyi-Appiah, ZeePay co-founder and CEO said that the company is “delighted to have GOODsoil on board,” said Zeepay co-founder and managing director. “We believe with their strong brokerage background, with leading Ghanaian brokerage firm Obsidian Achernar in their portfolio, we will be able to attract good pricing on foreign exchange for our wholesale clients.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ghanaian Fintech Startup ZeePay Secures $940k Seed Funding From VC GOODsoil

December 22, 2020

Ghana has not seen so much venture capital in its startup ecosystem as 2020 runs out compared to South Africa, Kenya or Nigeria, but GOODsoil, an Africa-focused EU-based early stage venture capital firm is determined to make a dent, nevertheless. Headed by a diverse team of entrepreneurial investors, GOODsoil has soiled Ghanaian fintech company Zeepay with US$940 000 seed capital.

*Zeepay co-founder and managing director Andrew Takyi-Appiah*

“We are delighted to have GOODsoil on board,” says Zeepay co-founder and managing director Andrew Takyi-Appiah. “We believe with their strong brokerage background, with leading Ghanaian brokerage firm Obsidian Achernar in their portfolio, we will be able to attract good pricing on Foreign Exchange for our wholesale clients.”

Here Is What You Need To Know

Following this investment, two previous investors in Zeepay have exited their initial investment of about USD24,000 in 2015 to USD940,000 at the 2020 exit.
This makes it the first of the kind that a Ghanaian investor has exited a local startup with such significant gains.
GOODsoil’s investment will enable Zeepay to continue to scale and roll out its services across the continent, and extend its global reach by launching in the UK in 2021.

Why The Investor Invested

Based in London and Accra, GOODsoil’s portfolio is diverse, and extends across the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa — with a strong focus on Fintech. The company makes up Crunchbase’s list of less than 100 Female Founded Investors active in Africa, and one of only 125 Female Founded Venture Capital Investors with Investments in England.

“There are clear barriers to entry for tech startups to scale, and our vision is to level the playing field. We go by the dictum that talent is evenly distributed; opportunities are not,” explains Charmaine Hayden, partner at GOODsoil. The company is the perfect fit for entrepreneurs, markets and industries that may typically be overlooked by other VC firms, adds Orla Enright.

Founded in 2017 by Charmaine Hayden, Orla Enright, Ashley Thompson-MacCarthy and Richard Mensah, and based in London and Accra, GOODsoil VC aims to fund 50+ startups in the next 5 years, while also building longterm relationships with investors who are equally passionate about tech innovation, early-stage companies and investment in Africa.

“GOODsoil will remain bullish on Africa for the foreseeable future, as we scale our portfolio and invest in new exceptional startups. We look forward to shortly confirming a $67.5m fund we are currently raising,” confirms Hayden.

Read also: Why Are Investors Rushing After North Africa’s Fashion Startups?

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.

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