Africa50 and Oikocredit lead equity investment in Ghanaian fintech Zeepay to support Africa expansion; The investment will support the expansion of Zeepay’s cross-border remittances and mobile financial services business across Africa and the Caribbean; The investment was made by Africa50, Oikocredit, Injaro Ghana Venture Capital Fund (IGVCF) and Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund (www.Verdant-Cap.com), with a follow-on investment from Investisseurs&Partenaires (I&P).
Ghanaian fintech company Zeepay Ghana Ltd today announced the completion of an equity investment by pan-African investment firms Africa50, Oikocredit, Injaro, Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund, and I&P. 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 $ 3 billion 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.
Andrew Takyi-Appiah, the Founder&CEO of Zeepay Ghana Ltd, commented: “We would like to thank all our stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders, and staff, for all the support in bringing this round to a close. The raise will greatly assist us in completing our ongoing 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 two years, leveraging remittances in partnership with MoneyGram, and we are delighted to see this vision come through.”
“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. Foreign currency inflows from remittances are the lifeline for many African economies with sizable diaspora populations, especially in the current economic environment. Zeepay provides a local, affordable, secure, and convenient money transfer solution for the industrious African diaspora to support their loved ones,” said Raza Hasnani, Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Investments at Africa50.
“Oikocredit is delighted to partner with Zeepay as we grow our global portfolio of impactful fintechs. 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,” said Samuel Kibiri, Equity Officer for Africa at Oikocredit.
”I&P’s follow-on investment in Zeepay demonstrates our conviction in the success and prospects of the business. We are proud to have partnered with 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 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,” said Sebastien Boyé, Co-CEO of I&P.
“The Injaro team is honoured to partner with the Zeepay team, which Andrew Takyi-Appiah, a dynamic and visionary young Ghanaian entrepreneur, leads. 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”, remarked Jerry Parkes, Managing Director of Injaro Investment Advisors Limited.
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.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Verdant Capital.
Media contacts:
Verdant Capital:
Liezel van Greunen
T: +27 10 140 3700
E: liezel.vangreunen@verdant-cap.com
Zeepay Ghana Ltd:
Ofoe Agbettor
Brand Associate
ofoe@myzeepay.com
+233 20 276 0708
Africa50:
Saran Koly
Director of Communications
s.koly@africa50.com,
Oikocredit:
Viviana Cordero
Communications Business Partner
vcordero@oikocredit.org
+31 33 422 4040
Injaro:
Jerry Parkes
Managing Director
jerry@injaroinvestments.com
+233 30 295 0917
I&P:
Francis Owusu
Investment Manager
f.owusu@ietp.com
About Verdant Capital:
Verdant Capital is a leading investment manager and investment bank specialising in the private capital markets and operating on a pan-African basis. www.Verdant-Cap.com .
About Zeepay Ghana Ltd:
Founded in 2014, Zeepay Ghana Ltd is a leading provider of digital remittance termination and ancillary mobile financial services in Africa and the Caribbean. The company has a footprint in over 20 countries worldwide and has partnerships with major remittance players such as MoneyGram, Remitly, Ria and Transfast. Zeepay is proud to be a majority-owned Ghanaian company. In the United Kingdom, we operate under the regulatory oversight of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), holding license number #592538. In Ghana, we are regulated by the Bank of Ghana under license #00001. For more information, visit www.MyZeepay.com.
About Africa50:
Africa50 is an infrastructure investment platform that contributes to Africa’s growth by developing and investing in bankable projects, catalyzing public sector capital, and mobilizing private sector funding, with differentiated financial returns and impact. Africa50 currently has 33 shareholders, comprised of 30 African countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and Bank Al-Maghrib. For more information, visit: Africa50.com
About Oikocredit:
Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit has nearly five decades of experience funding organisations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy.
Oikocredit’s loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their living standards sustainably.
Oikocredit finances more than 500 partners, with total outstanding capital of € 981.1 million (at June 2023). For more information, visit www.Oikocredit.coop.
About Injaro:
Injaro Investment Advisors Limited (Injaro) is an investment advisory firm licensed by the Ghana Securities&Exchange Commission and is part of Injaro Investments Limited, an international group which manages over USD 100M across multiple funds and has investments across Sub-Saharan Africa. The team has expertise in the areas of private equity, corporate finance advisory, asset management, management consulting and project management. Injaro manages the Injaro Ghana Venture Capital Fund (IGVCF), a private equity fund backed by local pension funds and registered under the laws of Ghana and licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana. Visit www.InjaroInvestments.com to learn more about Injaro.
About Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund:
Verdant Capital is a leading investment bank and investment manager operating on a Pan-African basis and specialising in private capital markets. Verdant Capital is the manager of the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund. The Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund is investing mezzanine capital into inclusive financial institutions on a pan-African basis. www.Verdant-Cap.com
About I&P:
Investisseurs&Partenaires (I&P) is a pioneering impact investing group entirely dedicated to financing and supporting the emergence of African entrepreneurship champions. For over 20 years, I&P has been developing funds, programs and training to support the emergence of entrepreneurs in Africa to demonstrate their essential role in the development of the continent. To date, I&P has partnered with over 200 businesses across 20 Sub-Saharan countries. For more information, visit www.IetP.com.
