Ghana’s Zeepay Joins Africa’s Venture Debt Surge With USD 18 M Deal

Ghanaian fintech Zeepay has raised USD 18 M in senior secured venture debt to power its rapid expansion across Africa and the Caribbean, cementing its position as one of West Africa’s leading non-telco mobile money players. The deal, structured by investment firm Verdant IMAP, marks a major milestone for the company, which has become a key bridge between international remittance flows and local mobile wallets.

The funds will primarily go toward working capital and float financing, essential for maintaining liquidity in the mobile money business. A standout feature of the deal is a newly designed security-sharing structure that allows incoming lenders equal access to a shared collateral pool, overseen by an external trustee and monitored daily by a third-party agent. This framework is intended to streamline the onboarding of new institutional investors as Zeepay scales.

Founded in 2014, Zeepay has built one of Africa’s largest remittance termination networks, connecting international money transfer operators like MoneyGram to mobile wallets in over 20 countries. In 2023 alone, the company processed more than 10 million transactions worth over USD 3 B, with a footprint spanning Ghana, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Barbados.

Zeepay’s model addresses a persistent challenge in African and Caribbean markets: financial exclusion. By integrating remittances with mobile money services, it provides affordable cross-border payment solutions to diaspora populations and underserved communities.

The venture debt round follows a USD 3 M equity raise last year backed by investors including Africa50, Oikocredit, Injaro, and I&P, bringing Zeepay’s total funding to over USD 30 million. According to Founder/CEO Andrew Takyi-Appiah, the company plans to enter at least 10 new countries over the next two years.

Verdant Capital’s director, Kwabena Appenteng, highlighted Zeepay’s profitable growth and resilience, noting its ability to blend hard currency revenues with expansion potential.

The deal signals growing investor confidence in mature African startups tapping into debt markets alongside equity to fuel their next growth phase. WT’s 2024 African Venture Capital Report finds that the share of debt funding has consistently gone up since 2019 and reached 28% of total funding in 2024, with mezzanine funding (a mix of equity and debt) also seeing an uptick.