More than 1,000 small businesses have joined the waitlist for Zazu, a digital banking startup built by two former executives from Solarisbank, a European fintech company, that has yet to formally launch, as its founders close a $1 million pre-seed round to begin rollout in South Africa and Morocco.
Germain Bahri and Rinse Jacobs, who co-founded Zazu after leaving Solarisbank, built the platform to give entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises access to banking services covering invoicing, bookkeeping, and cash-flow management. The company says these services remain out of reach for an estimated 50 million underserved SMEs across the continent. More than 50 businesses are currently in beta.
After the initial launch markets, Zazu plans broader Africa expansion in 2026.
The pre-seed round was led by Plug and Play Ventures, a venture firm, and drew angel participation from Zachariah George of Launch Africa Ventures, Axel Peyriere of AUTO24.africa, Akshay Patel of Paymentology, Ismael Belkhayat of Chari, and Sophie Guibaud of Fiat Republic, alongside founders and executives from Qonto and Solarisbank, both European fintech companies.
