Ivory Coast-based fintech startup Bizao has raised EUR8 million (US$8.2 million) in Series A funding to help it scale commercialisation and expand into more African markets.
Founded in 2019, Bizao facilitates the processing of end to-end payment flows to and from the main digital payment systems in Africa – airtime, mobile money wallets, and credit card. The startup’s modular and scalable platform allows clients to collect and issue payments online and in-stores via point-of-sale (POS).
Within three years, Bizao has expanded its operations into nine further African, mostly in Francophone Africa, and built a robust and cutting-edge infrastructure that processes over 350 million payment requests per month. The startup has over 30 partnerships with telco operators, banks, and mobile money service providers.
It is now set for further expansion after raising a EUR8 million Series A funding from investors including AfricInvest, Adelie, and Seedstars Africa Ventures. With this funding, Bizao will scale the commercialisation of its payment hub, and expand its operations to more new countries.
“We have spent the last few years working closely with our partners to improve our products and services in line with our customer requirements. Thanks to this close collaboration with industry players, we have multiplied the transaction volumes processed by our platform by almost 20 over the past 12 months,” said Aurélien Delort-Duval, founder and CEO of Bizao.
“This round of financing will enable us to design new product lines for high-potential vertically integrated organisations, expand in new markets and grow the team across all our offices.”
“Through our equity investments in financial institutions including banks, insurance companies and high potential fintechs, we support the acceleration of universal access to financial services. Our investment in Bizao is in line with this high-impact strategy aiming to support financial inclusion in Africa.” said Omar Bekkali, partner at AfricInvest.
