Update: Fintech Startup Zazu Secures £150,000 on Seedrs

UK-based fintech startup Zazu has successfully secured its initial £150,000 funding target during its crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs. The initiative was launched earlier this month, seeking the funds for the company’s new digital-only bank in Africa.

As previously reported, Zazu, which was founded in 2015, was launched through the Ignite Accelerator as an e-commerce platform for farmers and is now setting its sights on becoming a 21st-century bank for Africa. The company stated it is developing a prepaid card with a companion app to offer a real-time log of a consumer’s spending and control on the card’s usage. The Zazu team also explained they believe that access to banking should be simple, straightforward, and affordable for everyone.

“We believe our proposition is affordable branchless banking for Africa, via a banking app through offering unprecedented customer service. It costs $2 to obtain a card, with a monthly subscription of $2. We are aiming to issue 100,000 accounts in Zambia before December 2018. We are currently in talks with a potential sponsor bank, with whom we hope that we would be able to expand to other African countries.”

Using the Zazu app is easy:

1. Order: Download the app, register and order a card. The company prints the card, and sends it to users.
2. Load: Top up the Zazu account with existing credit or debit card, and get ready to access all of the features of a digital-only account.
3. Activate: Once the card is in the user’s hands, they just activate it by following the instructions provided.
4. Use: Once activated, the Zazu card can be used at 44 million locations in over 220 countries worldwide.
5. Manage: The Zazu App works on both iOS and Android. Users can set spending goals, see where they are spending their money and know exactly how much is left on their card, right from the app.

All funds from the Seedrs round will go towards the new Africa platform. The campaign is set to close later this fall.