South African fintech company, Zoona, just raised $15 million in a second funding round led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a branch of the World Bank.
Zoona is a startup that uses technology to provide financial services to underserved and financially excluded communities across Africa. Since its launch in 2009, it has processed over US$1 billion in mobile money transactions, having over 1.5 million active users.
This second funding round saw SA VC firm, 4Di Capital, first round investors, Accion, Omidyar Network and the Lundin Foundation, and long-time Zoona advisor, Patrick Pichette participate.
Zoona CEO, Mike Quinn is pretty excited about this raise and he said, “This investment round marks a key milestone in our journey to build a billion-dollar business that helps communities thrive. We are thrilled that investors the calibre of IFC, Accion and Quona Capital, Omidyar Network, Lundin Foundation and 4Di Capital buy into and support Zoona’s vision.”
Global head of IFC’s Fintech Investment Group, Andi Dervishi talked about the investment saying, “As the world economies transit from cash-based to cashless, an entire infrastructure is needed to make that transition possible and ensure equal availability of both ‘currencies’.”
“Zoona has made this possible in Zambia and Malawi and is planning to do the same in many other markets in Africa. Whether in the form of a money transfer or a cash collection network, these retail footprints play an important role in acceptance and adoption of the new form of money and will be critical for the financial service industry as it transforms itself.”
This new investment will help Zoona expand its operations to reach 10 markets and 30 million active consumers across Africa by 2020.
