Nigerian fintech blockchain technology company Zone has raised $8.5 million in a seed funding round to scale it’s payment infrastructure.
The round was led by early-stage global venture capital firm Flourish Ventures and Africa-focused tech VC TLcom capital. Renowned blockchain VC firms like Digital Currency Group, Verod-Kepple Africa ventures and Alter Global also participated in the round.
According to the company, the new funds secured will enable it to further expand its domestic coverage, onboarding more banks and financial service companies. Also, a significant portion will be directed towards a crucial pilot program in 2025, testing Zone’s capabilities for seamless cros-border transactions.
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The company further added that another key priority is to ensure that it is well-prepared to expand its footprint across Africa to support Ingram-African and international payments which will bring the company closer to its vision of becoming a global payment network.
Speaking on the funding round, Zone CEO and Co-founder 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-energized 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. With their support, we are poised to accelerate our mission to connect every monetary store of value and enable real-time payments within and across geographical borders. Zone is committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancement and industry evolution in financial services.”
Also commenting on its investment in Zone, Partner at Flourish Ventures Ameya Upadhyay said,
“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. We are excited by the potential for Zone’s technology to be replicated across borders to advance payment innovation globally. The fact that Zone is led by Obi and Wale who are veterans of the banking industry reinforces our conviction that Zone can fulfil our shared goal of moving the entire sector forward”.
For over a decade, the Nigeria-based fintech company Zone, (formerly Appzone), has functioned as an enabler (at payment rails and core infrastructure) within banking and payments, building custom software and software-as-a-service products for over 18 commercial banks and more than 450 microfinance banks across Africa, including Ghana and Kenya.
In 2022, the fintech provider, decided to self-innovate by delving into blockchain technology and integrating it with legacy banking and payment systems. As such, it rebranded to Zone, a licensed blockchain-enabled payment infrastructure company-and carved out its original banking as-a- service business into a separate standalone company, Qore.
Today, Zone’s blockchain network enables payments and acceptance of digital currencies.