Jazz One of the several digital banking startups aimed at the underbank of Africa. However, in contrast to many in large markets like Nigeria, Egypt or South Africa, Jazo Frankophone has created a niche in West Africa, especially in the Ivory Coast and more recently, where it is now serving more than ten million customers.
Wi-combinator-supported fintech has just collected $ 17 million to expand its product suite for thousands of small businesses in the last two years.
Equity Round, the largest for the Ivorian startup, surpassed the $ 1 million series in 2022, and reflects investors’ uninterrupted confidence in making banking accessible and affordable.
Co-founder and CEO Hassan Burgie The new assessment refused to share but said that it has doubled since the last raising.
Burgie founded Jazo with the main product and technical officer Rugis To stop the financial access to the French -speaking African countries in 2020, Where a few adults Have bank accounts. In this region, the traditional banks that are often filled with wealthy people, dependent on most of the population’s mobile money, is a cheap method that uses phone numbers for financial transactions.
Mobile money has played a vital role in expanding financial access across Africa. As 2022, 28% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa had a mobile money account, per World BankAnd the region holds more than half of the world. However, that progress has also created a ceiling.
Most mobile money platforms provide basic services: cash-in, cash out, P2P transfer and bill payment. Although useful they do not unlock credit, investment or long -term savings such as advanced financial equipment.
Jazo is located himself between mobile money and Traditional Tihar. The startup provides accessible to mobile money with the financial depth of a bank account, the same playbook that has used softbank-backed OPY and transition to multiply millions of Nigeria’s customers to scale.
Its goal is a growing division of users, mostly young customers, who have surpassed mobile money wallets, still in Traditional Tahak banks think it is expensive, old or accessible, founders say.
“These users are developing,” said Burgie. “But they do not want to go where their parents go, the hunting price is not adapted to the new generation of the customers and the new generation. And we are trying to become a go-to bank for this huge association of customers, which is now developing with the opportunity to make wealth.”
To extend the product suit to accommodate the demand
Since our last coverage, the Jazo Card and Peer-to-Pia Transfer have been extended. Ivorian fintech now provides the savings vaults, investing products-thanks for the first fintech-jeriest brokerage license in the region-and salary-engaged bank accounts, which are important to increase the busyness of the burgie customer.
Like many neobanks, Jazo attracts bank -made users who consider it as a secondary bill for smooth bill payment and a secondary account for mobile money integration. However, it is blocked, more difficult to activate, who show long -term possibilities. These users, who have participated in more than 55% of the Disadar Base, often consider the app as their primary financial services.
Burgi says that nine of ten users who depend on Jazo as their main account come from this section. To reach more of these, Jazo has adopted a hybrid approach, combining its app with offline agents who meet customers to conveniently convenience, similar to mobile money models, now have been adopted more extensively by fintech across the continent.
Currently, only 5-10% of the DJAMO users get salary through apps. “The next stage for us,” Burgie said, “Our users are determining how to move from 10% to 50% to 50% of how to move their salary directly to Jazo.”
Meanwhile, Jazo is also increasing services for small businesses – 10,000 of them, many of whom started as retail users. According to the CTO Bamba, the startup now provides bulk payment links, payment links and QR code tools to help the merchants directly receive and manage the payment.
Fintech generates online cards and produces earning from merchant fees in a premium level plan, for which 25% of the user pays. Bamba has added that the company is exploring additional revenue streams, including earning interest on NDing and earning interest on customer deposits. It is under the process of protecting the licenses that will allow it to provide interest-bearing savings account and credit product.
The founder of Jazo says that the company has increased income by 5x since 2022 and has processed more than $ 1.5 billion for transactions since the launch.
In addition to the recent expansion in Senegal, Jazo has entered a market affected by one of the largest fintech waves in Africa, known to transfer low -cost mobile money. However, instead of direct competition, the Desamo position itself as a supplement service, provides a digital banking experience where users can save funds and access more advanced equipment such as savings, investments and credit.
Now a 250-person team, Zizamo has bet that the gender-centric VC Jango Capital Pan-African fund its new round fund will help to scale those services across French-speaking Africa.
“We are thrilled to lead the Ivory Coast’s largest VC round and to double the access to access to financial services across West Africa,” Fatoumata B, founder and executive chairman of Janngo Capital, says.
“In a region where less than 25% of adults have access to formal financial services, and where women have double the chances of being excluded, it is an important mission. Women are not just stopping the gender interval with the creation of a third of its users but unlock economic opportunities on the scale.”
Other investors who participated in the round include MSMES (Motion In Motion), Partek, Okokredit, Nja Capital and Sanad Fund for Wi Combinator.