Zeepay raises $14 million equity for expansion

Ghanaian fintech company Zeepay Ghana Ltd has today announced the completion of an equity investment by pan-African investment firms Africa50, Oikocredit, Injaro, Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund, and I&P, amounting to $14 million.

A statement exclusively made available to Techfocus24 indicate that the the funds will go towards expanding Zeepay’s operations in Africa and the Caribbean.

Zeepay is a fast-growing payment infrastructure company with a footprint in more than 20
countries globally. Since its inception in 2014, Zeepay has specialised in facilitating the instant settlement of remittances into mobile money wallets in Africa and the Caribbean on behalf of leading international money transfer organizations (IMTOs). Last year, the Company settled over 10 million remittance transactions worth over $3billion in value.

The company’s vision is to promote financial inclusion and transform cross-border payments, particularly in low-income countries. This equity investment will support Zeepay in expanding its geographical footprint and in deepening its offering to IMTOs as well as senders and recipients of remittances.

Founder & CEO of Zeepay, Andrew Takyi-Appiah thanked all stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, and staff for all their support in closing the US$14-million funding round.

“The raise will greatly assist us to complete our on-going expansion drive into the rest of Africa. Our short to medium plan is to expand our mobile money reach into a minimum of 10 countries within the next 2 years leveraging remittances in partnership with MoneyGram and delighted to see this vision come through,” he said.

Managing Director and Head of infrastructure Investments at Africa50, Raza Hasnani, said “Africa50 is delighted to be partnering with Zeepay to support its leading role in the digital
payments infrastructure space on the African continent and beyond.”

He noted that foreign currency inflows from remittances are the lifeline for many African economies with sizable diaspora populations, especially in the current economic environment, and Zeepay provides a local, affordable, secure, and convenient money transfer solution for the industrious African diaspora to support their loved ones.

On his part, the Equity Officer for Africa at Oikocredit, Samuel Kibiri said the company is delighted to partner with Zeepay as its grows its global portfolio of impactful fintechs, adding that “remittances are essential to financial inclusion for many households in Zeepay’s countries of operation, and its digital wallets help overcome challenges around transparency, cost, convenience, speed and safety for both senders and receivers of funds. We are pleased to partner with a fast-growing African business led by a capable team, and look forward to supporting its growth,”

Sebastien Boyé, Co-CEO of I&P said ”IPAE 2’s follow-on investment in Zeepay demonstrates our conviction in the success and prospects of the business. We are proud to have partnered a highly capable promoter and management team in delivering impressive financial and social returns over the past two years with our initial investment. We are excited to be joined by new like-minded investors and remain fully committed to supporting the Zeepay to attain its goal of becoming a leading pan African mobile financial services business impacting the lives of millions of underserved users across Africa and the Caribbean,”

Managing Director of Injaro Investment Advisors Limited, remarked Jerry Parkes also remarked “The Injaro team is honoured to partner with the Zeepay team, which is led by Andrew Takyi Appiah, a dynamic and visionary young Ghanaian entrepreneur. We look forward to working together to achieve the ambitious goal of creating a successful Ghanaian multinational and a market leader in the fintech space. It is especially gratifying to finance Zeepay with Ghanaian capital as this ensures that profits from this investment flow back into the local economy to trigger a virtuous cycle of economic development. We believe that this investment represents an important first step in building linkages between Ghana’s pension funds and exceptional local businesses which are important drivers of Ghana’s economic growth”,

Kwabena Appenteng, Director at Verdant Capital, said, “Zeepay offers investors like Verdant an attractive combination of hard currency earnings through its remittance-to-the-wallet business and growth opportunities across the continent. Testament to the strength of the management team at Zeepay: the business reached profitability earlier in its lifecycle than other fintechs and has maintained strong profitability while growing and diversifying its footprint and revenue base.”