Zazu, a pan-African digital banking platform dedicated to entrepreneurs and SMEs, has secured $1 million in pre-seed funding.
The funds come from a mix of prominent African and European investors, including Plug and Play Ventures and several influential angel investors and fintech founders.
Zazu aims to deliver a business banking OS tailored for Africa, and the startup is already in beta with 50 SMEs and has over 1,000 businesses waiting for access.
Founded by former executives of European fintech firm Solarisbank, Zazu’s founders chose South Africa and Morocco as launch markets because both countries have large, fast-growing SME sectors, strong fintech infrastructure, and serve as strategic gateways to Southern and Northern Africa.
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Combined, they represent over 5 million SMEs and a substantial payments market, offering a suitable testbed for Zazu’s model.
Currently operating in South Africa and Morocco, Zazu has integrated with key payment and e-commerce players such as Paystack, Shopstar, and Ozow. The company also boasts over 20 ecosystem partnerships and has attracted notable recognition.
It was selected for the Visa Accelerator Program and named a finalist for KPMG’s Enterprise Innovator of the Year 2025. It has also been listed among PwC’s Fintechs to Watch.
Zazu plans to open a Seed funding round in early 2026 to scale across other African countries and roll out additional financial products tailored for entrepreneurs.
