Zazu, a neobank for African SMEs, offering seamless banking tools, cash flow automation, and real-time insights, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding.
The funding round saw participation from Plug and Play Ventures and a notable lineup of angel investors and fintech leaders, including Zachariah George of Launch Africa Ventures, Axel Peyriere (Co-founder of AUTO24.africa), Akshay Patel (Founder of Paymentology), Ismael Belkhayat (Founder of Chari), and Sophie Guibaud (Founder of Fiat Republic).
The investment will support Zazu’s expansion in South Africa and Morocco, with broader plans to scale across the continent in 2026.
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Founded in 2024 by Rinse Jacobs and Germain Bahri, Zazu was launched with the idea of making banking better for African founders and SMEs by providing them with a powerful bank account at the core, combined with invoicing, bookkeeping, and cash flow management tools. The fintech aims to provide African businesses with a seamless, Mercury-style banking experience tailored to their unique needs.
Zazu combines European fintech expertise with a deep understanding of African business realities, targeting the continent’s 50 million underserved SMEs. It offers services such as digital accounts, payments, financial management tools, and business connectivity features.
Five months ago, the neobank launched a feature “Zazu Connect”, designed to enhance connectivity and financial collaboration among African businesses. The launch aims to provide entrepreneurs and SMEs with seamless tools for payments, business networking, and financial management, strengthening Zazu’s mission to serve the continent’s 50 million underserved SMEs.
With over 50 SMEs already in beta and more than 1,000 businesses on its waitlist, the platform continues to expand its services across South Africa and Morocco, with plans to scale across the continent in 2026.
Zazu Connect integrates with major ecosystem players such as Paystack, Shopstar, and Ozow, while also offering SMEs opportunities to connect with partners, investors, and service providers. The company’s innovation has already earned it recognition, including selection for the Visa Accelerator Program, a finalist spot for KPMG’s Enterprise Innovator of the Year 2025, and inclusion in PwC’s “Fintechs to Watch.
Notably, Zazu offers a comprehensive suite of digital banking and business management tools designed specifically for African entrepreneurs and SMEs. Its features aim to simplify financial operations, improve efficiency, and provide businesses with the insights they need to grow.
These include;
• Business Account: Zazu provides fully digital business accounts that allow SMEs to manage their finances seamlessly. Businesses can send and receive payments, track transactions in real-time, and operate with the flexibility of a modern banking platform.
• Digital Incorporation: Zazu streamlines the process of registering and incorporating a business digitally, removing the traditional paperwork hurdles and enabling entrepreneurs to start and scale their ventures faster.
• Invoice Management: The platform allows businesses to create, send, and track invoices easily, helping improve cash flow management and ensuring timely payments from clients.
• Expense Management: Zazu offers tools to track and categorize business expenses, giving entrepreneurs better visibility and control over their spending.
• Bookkeeping & Cash Flow: The platform integrates bookkeeping and cash flow tracking features, allowing businesses to monitor financial health, generate reports, and make informed decisions.
By combining these features, Zazu acts as an all-in-one financial ecosystem for SMEs, helping African entrepreneurs operate efficiently, reduce administrative burdens, and focus on growth
The company’s goal is to dust off the old banking experience and create the finance solution that empowers up entrepreneurs, ensuring they can focus on their core as they create the next great companies.
Zazu is on a mission to build a finance solution that entrepreneurs love, which makes banking feel less like an obstacle and more like a catalyst for growth.