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Somali refugee entrepreneur Ismail Ahmed launched Zepz in 2010 amid frustrations with the high costs of transferring money back to his family in East Africa. Remittances are a key source of income and emergency cash for many emerging market households.
London-based Zepz, which touts itself as a lower-cost money transfer alternative, was on its way to a planned IPO in 2021 after hauling in $292 million in a Series E round at a valuation of $5 billion. Now the company isn’t ready to join the public markets, according to one of its investors. Last year, Zepz laid off more than a quarter of its workforce. It also reached profitability for the first time.
The new Series F round, led by Accel, will support Zepz’s expansion beyond Africa. Existing investors LeapFrog Investments, TCV and Coller Capital also participated. The IFC, a new investor, has committed to invest up to $20 million.
Digitalization
Zepz facilitates more than $1.3 billion in online money transfers monthly across at least 130 countries. The digital platform enables recipients to receive money via a wide range of cashless options, including bank deposit, cash collection, mobile airtime top-up and mobile money. Three years ago, the company, then known as WorldRemit, acquired global cross-border payments platform Sendwave of Boston in a $500 million deal.
