Zazu raises $1 M Pre-seed funding to transform SME banking throughout Africa
With plans to expand throughout the continent by 2026, the pan-African digital banking platform Zazu, which was created specifically for entrepreneurs and SMEs, has raised US$1 million in pre-seed funding from a group of prominent African and European investors to expedite its rollout in South Africa and Morocco.
Zazu, which was founded by Germain Bahri and Rinse Jacobs, two former Solarisbank executives with extensive fintech experience in Europe, is giving African entrepreneurs a Mercury-like experience.
With over 1,000 companies on its waitlist and more than 50 SMEs already in beta, Zazu seeks to assist Africa’s 50 million underprivileged SMEs by fusing European fintech know-how with a thorough grasp of African business realities.
A prominent group of angel investors and fintech founders, including Zachariah George (Launch Africa Ventures), Axel Peyriere (AUTO24.africa), Akshay Patel (Paymentology), Ismael Belkhayat (Chari), Sophie Guibaud (Fiat Republic), and several founding members of European fintech unicorns like Qonto and Solarisbank, have contributed to the startup’s US$1 million pre-seed round, which includes Plug and Play Ventures.
Zazu has already established over 20 partnerships with ecosystem players and integrated with Paystack, Shopstar, and Ozow in South Africa and Morocco. In order to support its pan-African expansion and the introduction of new financial products specifically designed for entrepreneurs, Zazu will invite a small number of strategic investors to participate in its seed round in early 2026, following strong early traction.
