Zazu, a new pan-African digital banking platform built exclusively for entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), has closed a $1 million pre-seed funding round.
Driving the News:
The capital injection, secured from a mix of leading African and European investors, will fuel Zazu’s accelerated rollout in South Africa and Morocco, positioning it for broader continental expansion in 2026.
The Investor Lineup:
The funding round was led by Plug and Play Ventures, and features a remarkably experienced cap table for African fintech. Participants include a high-profile group of angel investors and fintech founders:
- Zachariah George (Launch Africa Ventures)
- Axel Peyriere (Co-founder, AUTO24.africa)
- Akshay Patel (Founder, Paymentology)
- Ismael Belkhayat (Founder, Chari)
- Sophie Guibaud (Founder, Fiat Republic)
- Several founding members of European fintech giants like Qonto and Solarisbank.
Building the ‘Business Banking OS’:
- The Vision: Co-founded by former Solarisbank executives Germain Bahri and Rinse Jacobs, Zazu is creating a “Mercury-style experience” tailored for African entrepreneurs.
- The Target: Zazu is aiming to serve Africa’s estimated 50 million underserved SMEs.
- Early Traction: The platform already has 50 SMEs in its beta phase and a waitlist exceeding 1,000 businesses.
The Initial Footprint:
- Launch Markets: Zazu chose South Africa and Morocco for their fast-growing SME sectors, robust fintech infrastructure, and strategic gateway positioning to Southern and North Africa. These two markets alone represent over 5 million SMEs.
- Partnerships: Zazu is already operational and integrated with key ecosystem players like Paystack, Shopstar, and Ozow, boasting over 20 active partnerships.
- Recognition: The company has been selected for the Visa Accelerator Program, named a finalist for KPMG Enterprise Innovator of the Year 2025, and listed among PwC’s Fintechs to Watch.
What’s Next
Zazu plans to open its Seed round in early 2026. This next phase of funding will support its pan-African expansion and the launch of new, tailored financial products for entrepreneurs.
The Big Picture:
By blending deep European fintech expertise with a clear understanding of African market realities, Zazu is tackling one of the continent’s most persistent economic bottlenecks: providing modern, scalable banking tools for the engine of the African economy—its SMEs.
Source: Tech in Africa
Learn more about other African tech startups on Labari Insights, our data repository for tech in Africa: insights.techlabari.com
