Zone, Africa’s fast-growing blockchain fintech startup secures a whooping eight million, five hundred thousand dollars ($8.5 M) in seed funding to scale its decentralized payment platform.
The seed funding was led by international and reputable investment companies, Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital for Africa’s first regulated layer-1 blockchain for payments.
This round of funding marks a remarkable moment for the startup as the fintech company continues on a journey to build a Blockchain-based decentralized payment platform for financial services providers across Africa and beyond.
Acknowledging the significance of the funding, Co-founder and CEO Obi Emetarom stated that the company’s ability to raise capital in a tough funding environment is a testament to its value proposition.
In his words,
“The participation of high-quality investors despite the funding drought and the fact that we had more interested investors than we needed, is a sign of trust in the Zone brand and investor excitement about the opportunity to redefine payment infrastructure in Africa. As we step into this new phase at Zone, we are re-energized and our commitment to transforming Africa’s payment infrastructure is renewed. Our new investors and existing shareholders including CCA, Lateral Capital, Constant Ventures and V8 bring more than just financial backing as their global scope and deep expertise make them invaluable partners for us. With their support, we are poised to accelerate our mission to connect every monetary store of value and enable real-time payments within and across geographical borders. Zone is committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancement and industry evolution in financial services.”
Sitting in a unique position of Africa’s first regulated blockchain network for payments, Zone has signed up over fifteen of Africa’s largest banks and fintech companies since its inception in 2008.
Emeka Emetarom, Obi Emetarom, and Wale Onawunmi joined forces to establish Zone, an innovative company at the forefront of transforming payment systems across Africa through the strategic use of cutting-edge technology.
Flourish Ventures shared their optimism about the blockchain fintech company and what informed their decision to invest in Africa’s first blockchain fintech startup.
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Ameya Upadhyay, Partner at Flourish Ventures said;
“For the first time in Africa, Zone’s technology enables direct communication between participants in the payment ecosystem. We believe this is a fundamental leap that will allow customers to experience a completely new standard of reliability, speed and cost efficiency at the ATM, at POS machines and online. We are excited by the potential for Zone’s technology to be replicated across borders to advance payment innovation globally. The fact that Zone is led by Obi and Wale who are veterans of the banking industry reinforces our conviction that Zone can fulfil our shared goal of moving the entire sector forward.”
Ido Sum, Partner at TLcom Capital said;
“We are thrilled to partner with Obi Emetarom and Wale Onawunmi, co-founders of Zone, on their journey to build a category-defining fintech company that is using advanced blockchain technology to solve a critical payments system challenge. The Company’s innovative infrastructure has the potential to deliver tremendous value to financial institutions, enhancing the overall payment experience for end-users and driving down costs for hundreds of millions of consumers and businesses that rely on digital payments in Africa every day.”
What Does This Mean For Zone?
The additional funding will empower Zone to broaden its network’s reach within the country and across Africa, facilitating more connections with banks and financial institutions.
A notable portion of the investment will be directed towards initiating an extensive pilot program to assess the Company’s cross-border functionalities, slated for implementation in 2025.
One of the company’s primary objectives is to be fully equipped to expand its presence across Africa, facilitating intra-African and international payments.
This strategic move aligns with the company’s overarching vision of establishing a global payment network.
What Does This Mean For The FinTech Space In Africa?
With the CBN (Central Bank Of Nigeria) backing for the blockchain fintech startup in 2023 and the just concluding seed raise, Zone has proven that the blockchain decentralized payment platform is here to stay.
With the rebranding from AppZone to Zone in 2022, African fintech startups will be inspired to go the extra mile of standing out and creating unique solutions for Africans.
