Zone Secures $8.5 Million in Seed Funding to Accelerate The Scaling of Its Decentralized Payment Infrastructure

Zone, Africa’s rapidly growing payment infrastructure company, has announced the successful completion of an oversubscribed seed funding round, raising $8.5 million, led by VC firms Flourish Ventures and TLcom Capital.

This milestone marks a significant step forward for Zone as it continues to develop a blockchain-based decentralized payment infrastructure for financial service providers across Africa and beyond. Leveraging blockchain technology, Zone’s network offers reliable, frictionless, and universally interoperable payment experiences at scale for financial institutions and their customers. Notably, Zone is Africa’s first regulated blockchain network for payments and has already secured partnerships with over 15 of the continent’s largest banks and fintech companies.

The fresh funding will fuel Zone’s expansion efforts, enabling the company to extend its network coverage domestically and onboard more banks and financial services providers. A substantial portion of the investment will also support the implementation of a comprehensive pilot program in 2025 to test Zone’s cross-border capabilities. A primary objective for the company is to prepare for broader expansion across Africa, facilitating Intra-African and international payments. This strategic move aligns with Zone’s vision of evolving into a global payment network.

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-energized 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.”