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Nigerian fintech Zone raises $8.5M seed to scale its decentralized payment infrastructure

TechCrunchTechCrunch · 1y ago
Nigerian fintech Zone raises $8.5M seed to scale its decentralized payment infrastructure
Medial

Zone, a Nigerian fintech software provider, has raised $8.5 million in a seed round for its blockchain-enabled payment infrastructure. The startup has developed an interoperable payment network using blockchain technology to connect banks and fintech companies, facilitating transactions without intermediaries. Zone has already signed up over 15 of Africa's largest banks and is processing domestic transactions for seven of them. Its platform aims to provide reliability, scalability, and automated reconciliation for payments, as well as instant settlement and increased visibility for merchants. The funding will be used to launch additional functionalities and expand its network coverage.

Related News

DeFi startup PlutoPe raises $500K in pre-Seed round

EntrackrEntrackr · 24d ago
DeFi startup PlutoPe raises $500K in pre-Seed round
Medial

PlutoPe, a fintech startup offering a non-custodial crypto wallet, has raised $500K in a pre-seed funding round led by Manit Gupta. The fresh funds will be utilized for the next phase of growth, aimed at expanding its global user base, deepening its presence in emerging and under-connected markets, and accelerating the delivery of seamless, user-first crypto financial tools, PlutoPe said in a press release. Launched in 2022 by Kumar Chetan Tyagi, PlutoPe is a non-custodial crypto neobank designed to give users complete control over their digital assets, with the simplicity of traditional finance and the power of decentralized infrastructure. Built for the global crypto-native community, it offers an all-in-one platform that integrates a secure wallet, multi-chain token swaps, real-time remittances, and a globally accepted debit card. According to PlutoPe, it aims to empower individuals to access the digital economy by removing barriers like limited infrastructure, low digital literacy, and complex onboarding. Its decentralized, user-first approach promotes direct asset ownership and financial access for those often left out of traditional systems. PlutoPe unifies wallet, swap, and card infrastructure into a decentralized stack designed for global scale—without dependencies on exchanges or legacy rails. The startup intends to launch new products, including crypto debit cards across MENA, SEA, and LATAM, a merchant app for crypto acceptance, and a one-tap on-ramp for Indian users. The company plans to focus on building strategic partnerships with stablecoin issuers, Layer-1 blockchain networks, and forward-thinking banking institutions. It claims to have registered 9% month-on-month user growth, 65% active user retention, and over $14.5 million in swaps processed.

Dodo Payments raises $1.1 Mn in pre-seed round

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Dodo Payments raises $1.1 Mn in pre-seed round
Medial

Dodo Payments raises $1.1 Mn in pre-seed round Fintech startup Dodo Payments has raised $1.1 million in its pre-seed round led by Antler, 9Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts. Nitin Gupta (Uni Cards and PayU), Maninder Gulati (former Oyo CSO/Lightspeed), Raymond Russell (former Chief of Staff at Boom Supersonic), Preethi Kasireddy (former Partner, a16z), and Nishant Verman (former Flipkart CorpDev head) have also participated. The proceeds will be used for several strategic initiatives, including enhancing the technological infrastructure by introducing modules for subscriptions, billing, fraud detection, and risk management. Additionally, Dodo Payments plans to establish local payment rails in over 30 countries, focusing on regions such as the European Union, United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Brazil, and Australia. Founded in 2023 by Rishabh Goel and Ayush Agarwal, Dodo Payments simplifies complexities, enabling merchants to easily accept payments from over 150 countries with success rates exceeding 90%. The platform supports over 25 local payment methods, including Apple Pay, Klarna, Affirm, Cash App, UPI, and all major card networks, and is available in 14 languages, covering 86% of the global population. In its initial phase, Dodo Payments claims to have onboarded over 1,000 merchants across 30 countries and aims to expand this to more than 10,000 merchants globally by the end of the year.

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