Zazu, a digital financial operating system for African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to position itself as a “Mercury-style” banking experience for Africa.
Founded in 2024 by Rinse Jacobs and Germain Bahri, both former Solarisbank employees, Zazu says it raised the funding to accelerate its expansion in South Africa and Morocco, laying the groundwork for a pan-African rollout in 2026.
With more than 50 SMEs already in beta and a waitlist exceeding 1,000 businesses, the startup says it aims to address the funding and operational gap affecting Africa’s “missing middle.”
“Traditional banks have very archaic measures and metrics about how they deal with and bank SMEs,” says Jacobs. “There is a big mismatch at the moment between the daily tools that SMEs are using versus the kind of tools that they’re using in their banking environment.”
What You Need to Know
Many African fintechs have historically focused on standalone apps for payroll, invoicing, lending, or commerce, forcing SMEs to navigate fragmented dashboards.
Zazu aims to rebundle these services into a unified financial operating system that provides accounts, cards, transfers, and API-driven integrations with core finance tools such as bookkeeping, tax management, payroll, and cap-table management.
The platform allows businesses to create accounts with separated wallets, spend limits, and role-specific access, eliminating the need for shared corporate cards.
Zazu also targets the informal economy with a digital incorporation flow, helping unregistered businesses legalise operations, access formal banking, and remain compliant with local regulations.
In addition, Zazu says it offers financial insights and automated management tools that track cash flow, revenue trends, runway projections, and spending patterns. Businesses can automate tasks such as skimming a percentage of incoming invoices into a capital expenditure fund, helping prevent liquidity crises.
Partnership-First Model
Unlike neobanks seeking full banking licences, Zazu follows a partnership-first approach, collaborating with licensed commercial banks to handle compliance and reporting while focusing on user experience and integrations.
In South Africa, it partners with a fully licensed commercial bank, and in Morocco, it works with Chari, an API-driven banking platform operating under a payment licence.
Zazu generates revenue through monthly subscription fees for tiered plans, card interchange fees and interest on deposits, and commissions via its marketplace for third-party services such as lenders or insurers.
Plans range from a basic option for freelancers to Premium and Pro tiers offering multi-accounts and AI-powered workflows, providing SMEs with affordable alternatives to traditional banks.
Early Traction and Pan-African Ambitions
Zazu’s integrations already include Paystack, Shopstar, Ozow, and over 20 ecosystem partners in South Africa and Morocco. With pre-seed funding secured, Zazu plans to launch its seed round in early 2026 to fuel pan-African expansion and introduce new financial products tailored for entrepreneurs.
“We fully intend to be live in various countries and figure out the right way to plug those countries together and have a larger network of products that we can work with,” says Jacobs.
Zazu’s approach represents a strategic rebundling of finance for African SMEs, tackling both operational inefficiencies and the continent’s persistent funding gap.
As it scales, the startup could redefine how SMEs access banking, financial tools, and regulatory compliance, bridging the missing middle and unlocking Africa’s entrepreneurial potential.
What This Means
Africa’s economic landscape is shaped by a persistent challenge known as the “missing middle.” While micro-entrepreneurs have access to microfinance institutions and mobile money services, and large corporations benefit from premium banking offerings, SMEs sit in the middle with limited tailored financial support.
These 50 million SMEs, which form the backbone of the continent’s economy, face a funding gap estimated at over $330 billion. Beyond capital, accessing financial services often entails significant administrative burden.
Experts in African fintech and SME development highlight that startups like Zazu are poised to transform this ecosystem. By embedding tools for accounting, payroll, tax management, and capital planning directly into its platform, Zazu is helping SMEs bridge the gap between informal and formal economies.
Industry analysts consider Zazu’s approach a model for modern SME banking in Africa, demonstrating how technology-driven financial operating systems can create tangible economic impact across multiple markets.
Talking Points
It is impressive that Zazu has designed a rebundled financial operating system for African SMEs, addressing a longstanding gap in the continent’s banking ecosystem known as the “missing middle.”
By unifying accounts, cards, transfers, and API-driven integrations in one platform, Zazu directly tackles the operational and financial challenges SMEs face.
At Techparley, we see how platforms like Zazu can accelerate the professionalisation and digitisation of African SMEs, improving access to formal financial services and bridging gaps in cash flow management, compliance, and operational visibility.
Its integration with accounting platforms, payment gateways, and third-party services ensures that entrepreneurs can make informed decisions based on real-time financial insights.
With the right strategic backing, Zazu has the potential to redefine SME banking in Africa, bridging the funding gap and empowering small businesses to thrive in a more formal, connected, and sustainable financial environment.
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