Zeepay, Africa’s leading challenger Fintech today announces the completion of its Series A.0 fundraise round, raising some US$7.9 million in total.
The round, led by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), was a hybrid of both equity and balance sheet funds to support Zeepay’s operations.
Zeepay is a pioneer of digital remittances from the diaspora to mobile wallets, bank accounts and visa cards across 20 markets in Africa, where it either operates a mobile money business or has approved partnerships.
The business is successfully transitioning into an integrated omni-channel digital payments and value-added financial services provider operating across the African continent.
On the equity side, fundraise leader, I&P, an impact investing group with over US$250 million in assets under management brought in US$3 million, supported by ARK Holdings, a privately held family investment portfolio on behalf of the Managing Director of Zeepay, Andrew Takyi-Appiah and Zoe Takyi-Appiah in the amount of US$800,000. GOODsoil VC, an African-focused early-stage venture capital firm committed a follow-on investment to the tune of US$800,000 and were advised by Obsidian Achernar, a financial services firm licensed by Bank of Ghana.
The transaction advisors for this raise were Verdant Capital and JLD & MB legal Consultancy.
The company also raised a debt of US$3.3 million to drive balance sheet activities mainly for liquidity purposes, which was led by Absa Bank Ghana in the amount of US$1.8 million and US$1.5 million supported by First National Bank Ghana.
Zeepay, prior to the fund raise, had efficiently deployed a total of about US$450,000 since its go-to-market in May 2016 to achieve a cumulative average growth rate of about 146 percent during the 5 years leading to these transactions.
An exciting story on the continent, full of hope and inspiring for the New African – that is the young African looking to chart their own path through start ups across the continent.
Managing Director and Founder of Zeepay, Andrew Takyi-Appiah stated that “Our raise of US$7.9 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 the time when we have successfully moved into our new Commercial Property in Accra.”
Mr. Takyi–Appiah attributed the company’s performance to “the Grace of God”, and also expressed profound gratitude to the Founding Chairman of Zeepay, the late Dr. Anthony Kwasi Appiah, saying “I wish he 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.”
He also thanked Mr. Kwame Achampong-Kyei and the GLICO Group for their diligent support over the last 5 years.
Chairman of Zeepay, Paa Kwesi Yankey said “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”.
He said Zeepay looks forward to being able to expand its operations beyond its current 20 countries and increase its 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,” he noted.
Chairperson of Zeepay UK, Ruth Amenu mentioned “the additional funding is a landmark for a wholly owned African Company, and a testament of how technology has democratised the world to give Zeepay a seat at the table. For a business that started from such humble beginnings, this story is remarkable and inspiring. It is my prayer that this motivates the African Youth that “It is possible to succeed when you put your mind to it”.
Investment Director at I&P, Baafour Otu-Boateng remarked, “Zeepay has proven itself unique in its ability to take a leading position in the rapidly growing world of African fintechs while delivering profitability. We are excited to partner with a management team that has demonstrated a robust track record of delivering innovative products and services that transform the remittance and mobile money ecosystems. As an impact investor, we look forward to supporting Zeepay’s remarkable growth story as the company deepens financial inclusion for millions of users across Africa.”
Ashley Thompson-MacCarthy, CEO at Obsidian Achernar also said “We are delighted to deepen our partnership with Andrew and the incredible Zeepay team, as they scale and roll out mobile money and remittance services across the continent. With remittance flows exhibiting considerable resiliency in times of pandemic-induced disruption, Zeepay has grown from strength-to-strength and the current fund-raise is a testament to the Company’s value and potential. As an Africa-focused financial services firm, we are driven by an unyielding commitment to contribute to the creation and furtherance of lasting economic growth and development on the continent and are excited to work together with an entity which shares our ethos.
Merene Benyah, Founding Partner of JLD & MB Legal Consultancy, stated “We are extremely proud of our client Zeepay for this landmark raise and pleased to have supported Zeepay since its inception in 2014. Zeepay is a strong brand and comes to the transaction with a lot of experience and insight. The successful close of both debt and equity at the time when most markets have contracted is a strong indication of the trajectory that the company is on. We believe their success today will put Ghana once again on the world map and confirms the Zeepay as a strong contender in the Fintech space.
According to Verdant Capital, Zeepay has the potential to transform how Africans implement payments across borders and domestically and how these payments are integrated into value-added services such as credit and insurance. Zeepay has built a formidable market position in its anchor market of Ghana, which it is now replicating in synergistic markets across the Continent. Verdant expects this strategy to continue to drive rapid revenue growth, profitability and financial inclusion.
About Zeepay
Zeepay is the fastest growing mobile financial services company across Africa with operations in Ghana and the United Kingdom and terminating to 20 countries across Africa with termination agreements in over 90 jurisdictions globally. We specialize in remittance termination into mobile wallets and are completely network- and partner-agnostic. We are majority Ghanaian owned company and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority – FCA #592538 and in Ghana by Bank of Ghana – PSD/ZGL/20/03 under the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987). Zeepay supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3 and is considered as a Financial Inclusion Company positioned to improve last mile access. Visit myzeepay.com for more information.
About I&P
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is a pioneering impact investing group entirely dedicated to financing and supporting start-ups and medium-sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The team of approximately 100 people is based in 10 African hubs (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Uganda), in Paris and in Washington D.C. I&P has partnered with more than 150 companies operating in some fifteen African countries in a wide range of sectors. I&P brings long-term financing as well as strategic, managerial and technical support. As an impact investor, I&P’s mission is to maximize the societal impact of its partner companies and contribute to dynamic and inclusive growth in Africa.
About Verdant Capital
Verdant Capital is a specialist investment bank and investment manager operating on a Pan-African basis. Verdant Capital specializes in sectors including financial technology and financial inclusion.
About JLD & MB
JLD & MB Legal Consultancy is a top-tier corporate and commercial law firm with decades of experience advising global and local clients on some of Ghana’s highest profile transactions.
The Firm provides an integrated business and corporate law service with a multi- disciplinary team of lawyers. Our primary objective is to produce work to the highest international standards, and we pride ourselves on our responsiveness, seamless delivery of client services and multi-jurisdictional experience.
We provide innovative and solution-oriented advisory services across several key practice areas including: Banking and Finance, Corporate and Commercial Transactions, Energy and Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Property and Transportation and Business Support Services.
