Tech in Africa
Mukuru is one of the continent’s largest financial operators when it comes to remittances. Going by their Linkedin account profile, they are headquartered in Cape Town. Founded in 2001 and backed by Emerging Capital Partners, the company has just acquired the assets of South African based fintech, Zoona.
The two companies have been working closely together for the past 4 years. Zoona is an Afican-based fintech that helps entrepreneurs offer safe and reliable services to the underserved communities in Malawi and across the region.
Andy Jury, Mukuru CEO, argued how the acquisition will bring “benefits” to Malawians while offering them “safe mechanisms” to send money.
The acquisition now means that all Zoona agents will act as Malawi agents and will enjoy a broader range of products to convey given Mukuru’s established presence and trusted name. The agents will also reap the benefits of working within the SADC economic block.
Mukuru has not disclosed the amount they parted with to acquire Zoona’s assets. Zoona also has operations in Zambia and Mozambique. According to Zoona, the decision was a long-time coming as they intended to scale down their OTC money-transfer business which has faced several challenges. Zoona has been able to raise significant capital over the years through multiple funding rounds that have seen it expand its footprint across the region.
