FUNDING | UK Fintech, ZEPZ (Formerly WorldRemit), Raises $267 Million to Pursue Expansion in Core African Markets

Sendwave parent company, ZEPZ, has raised $267 million from new and existing investors to fund expansion in its core African markets and beyond.

The round was led by venture capital firm:

• Accel

with participation from:

* Leapfrog and

• TCV while
• The International Financial Corporation (IFC) pledged to invest as much as $20 million

Formerly WorldRemit, Zepz was founded in 2010 by Somali refugee and entrepreneur, Ismail Ahmed, who was frustrated at the high transaction fees to send money to his family in East Africa. The firm became the UK’s first black-founded fintech company to be valued at $1 billion and reached full-year profitability in 2022.

It operates in over 150 countries including:

• South Africa
• Uganda
• Kenya
• Rwanda and
• Tanzania

Following the raise, the firm has paused plans for an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported previously, and investors are now ‘in no rush’ for ZEPZ to join the public markets, according to Harry Nelis, partner at Accel.

“It’s fair to say fintech funding is back, but for the established companies,” said Nelis, who has backed WorldRemit since its early stages.

Nelis said remittances were still part of ‘a very fragmented industry,’ creating opportunities for ZEPZ to expand and potentially acquire smaller firms as more customers shift from cash transfers to online services.

Mark Lenhard, the CEO of ZEPZ, said the firm had further to grow:

“We certainly saw it during Covid. We’ll see it when there’s an earthquake. We’ll see it when there’s geopolitical unrest in the country,” he said in an interview.

“More money will flow in because people get concerned about their families, about their communities and that’s their time of need.”

While ZEPZ did not reveal its valuation, the company was last valued at $5 billion during a fundraising round in 2021 which followed its acquisition of the cross-border payment firm, Sendwave, and its subsequent rebranding to ZEPZ.

According to Bloomberg, fintech companies are slowly coming back for fresh funding this year [2024] after a slump in valuations from record-breaking highs.

In the United Kingdom, 2 key digital banks have recently raised significant sums:

• In May 2024 Monzo Bank Ltd. raised capital that brought the British startup’s valuation to $5.2 billion, while
• In August 2024, Revolut boosted its valuation to $45 billion through a secondary share sale.