Zone Raises $8.5m in Seed Funding to Scale Payment Infrastructure

Stories By Emma Okonji

Zone, Africa’s fast-growing payment infrastructure company has said it raised $8.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by reputable VC firms Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital.

According to Zone, the new funding will enable it to further expand the coverage of its network domestically and connect more banks and financial services companies. A significant portion of the proceeds will also be allocated to conducting a comprehensive pilot programme to test the company’s cross- border capabilities, scheduled for 2025. A key priority of the company is to ensure that it is well- prepared to extend its footprint across Africa in order to support Intra-African and international payments, which will bring the company closer to its vision of becoming a global payment network.

UK-based TLcom Capital will provide essential local credibility and understanding of the African tech space while leveraging its existing relationships with key decision-makers In Nigeria to establish a strong foundation for Zone within its home market.

Commenting on the funding round, CEO and co-Founder of Zone, Obi Emetarom, said: “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-energised 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.”

Partner at Flourish Ventures, Ameya Upadhyay, 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.”