Zazuu

Cross-border payment network.

Epitaph

“Here lies Zazuu. It gathered seventeen remittance providers so Africans abroad could compare rates and send money home for less. It found the cheapest transfer for everyone except itself; with no follow-on round, the marketplace closed with £3,300 to its name.”

Overview

Born: 2018 (Year)
Died: November 2023 (Month)
Lifespan: 6 years
Fate: Shut down
Headquarters: 🇳🇬 Nigeria
Category: Fintech
Stage at death: Series A
Primary cause: Funding or runway
Contributing causes: Competition, Business model or unit economics, Regulation

Death certificate

Timeline

2018Founded
Kay Akinwunmi, Korede Fanilola, Tosin Ekolie and Tola Alade launch Zazuu as a remittance-comparison chatbot in London
August 2021Seed round
Raises $200,000 from Launch Africa and ODBA
August 2022Series A
Raises $2 million from Launch Africa, Founders Factory Africa, ODBA, HoaQ and angel investors
18 November 2023Shutdown announced
Zazuu ceases operations after failing to secure additional funding
July 2024Liquidation disclosed
Statement of Affairs shows £3,300 in cash against £1.37 million in unsecured liabilities

Autopsy report

Why did Zazuu shut down?

Zazuu, a London-based marketplace comparing African cross-border remittance providers, shut down in November 2023 after failing to raise a follow-on funding round. A subsequent liquidation filing showed the company left only £3,300 in cash against £1.37 million in unsecured liabilities.

What Zazuu attempted

Built a marketplace aggregating 17+ African-focused remittance providers so users could compare and access the cheapest cross-border money-transfer rates.

What worked

Grew to roughly 100,000 users with 2.3x user growth in Q1 2022, and raised over $2 million total (a $200K seed in Aug 2021, then a $2M round in Aug 2022) from Launch Africa, Founders Factory Africa, ODBA, HoaQ and angel investors including Tinie Tempah, Jason Njoku and Babs Ogundeyi.

Early warning signs

Struggled to explain its marketplace/aggregator model to customers and partners, faced rising licensing costs, and competed against well-funded incumbents (NALA, Lemonade Finance, Chipper Cash, WorldRemit, Remitly).

What happened

After its August 2022 funding round, Zazuu could not raise further capital during Africa's 2023 tech funding downturn. It ceased operations in November 2023, saying 'We explored every option before making this decision,' and a later Statement of Affairs revealed only £3,300 in cash against £1.37 million in unsecured claims, including £360,000 owed to Founders Factory Africa.

Lessons for future builders

A marketplace that customers and partners cannot understand will struggle to hold margin against well-funded incumbents. Make the model legible and prove unit economics early, so licensing costs and competition don't outrun the next raise.