GHANA: Zeepay completes Series A fundraise at $7.9m to drive balance sheet growth

Zeepay, a leading challenger Fintech, on Wednesday announced the completion of its Series A.0 fundraise in a round led by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P).

The leading Ghanaian Fintech announced that it has completed a fundraise of $7.9 million in its Series A.0 which was a hybrid of both equity and balance sheet funds to support its 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 omnichannel digital payments and value-added financial services provider operating across the continent.

The fundraise was led by I&P, an impact investing group with over $250m in assets under management in the amount of $3 million, and supported by ARK Holdings, a privately held family investment portfolio on behalf of Andrew Takyi-Appiah (Managing Director) and Zoe Takyi-Appiah in the amount of $800,000.

GOODsoil VC, an African-focused early-stage venture capital firm committed a follow-on investment to the tune of USD800,000 and were advised by Obsidian Achernar, a financial services firm licensed by the Bank of Ghana.

The transaction advisors for this raise were Verdant Capital and JLD & MB Legal Consultancy.

The company raised a debt of $3.3 million to drive balance sheet activities mainly for liquidity purposes which was led by Absa Bank Ghana in the amount of $1.8 million and $1.5 million supported by First National Bank Ghana.

Zeepay, prior to the fundraise had efficiently deployed a total of about $450,000 since its go-to-market in May 2016 to achieve a cumulative average growth rate of about 146 per cent 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 startups across the Continent.

Andrew Takyi-Appiah, Managing Director and Founder of Zeepay mentioned that “Our raise of $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 further mentioned that “Our performance, I believe is attributable to the Grace of God. Indeed, it is my wish that our Founding Chairman, Dr. Anthony Kwasi Appiah, 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. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Mr Kwame Achampong-Kyei and the GLICO Group for their diligent support over the last five years.”

According to Paa Kwesi Yankey, the Chairman of Zeepay, “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”.

“We look forward to being able to expand our operations beyond our current 20 countries and increase our 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.”

Ruth Amenu, Chairperson, Zeepay UK 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”.

Baafour Otu-Boateng, Investment Director at I&P 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 remarked, “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, mentioned – “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 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.

SOURCE:MYJOYONLINE