Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital back Lagos-based Zone
Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital back Lagos-based Zone
Zone, a payment infrastructure company, has raised $8.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round.
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Zone, a payment infrastructure company based in Lagos, has raised $8.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round led by venture capital firms Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital. Other investors in the round include Digital Currency Group, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, Alter Global and Endeavor Catalyst.
By harnessing the power of blockchain, Zone's blockchain network delivers reliable, frictionless and universally interoperable payment experiences at scale to financial service providers and their customers. Zone has a unique position as Africa's first regulated blockchain network for payments and has already signed up over 15 banks and fintech companies.
Commenting on the funding round, Obi Emetarom, CEO and co-founder of Zone 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-energised 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."
Ameya Upadhyay, partner at Flourish Ventures said, "For the first time in Africa, Zone's technology enables direct communication between participants in the payment ecosystem. 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."
Ido Sum, partner at TLcom Capital said, "We are thrilled to partner with Obi Emetarom and Wale Onawunmi, co-founders of Zone, on their journey to build a category-defining fintech company that is using advanced blockchain technology to solve a critical payments system challenge. The company's innovative infrastructure has the potential to deliver tremendous value to financial institutions, enhancing the overall payments experience for end-users and driving down costs for hundreds of millions of consumers and businesses that rely on digital payments in Africa every day. We have no doubt that Zone, led by Obi and Wale, is on its way to transform into a global company over time, and TLcom is excited to bring its complementary experience, networks and expertise to support the company in fulfilling its impressive scale ambitions."
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