NIGERIAAppzone, a Pan-African fintech software provider building proprietary solutions for the continent’s banking and payments industries, has announced the close of its US$10 million Series A round.

The new round will bolster investment in Appzone’s core technologies and kickoff a wave of new country expansions in a drive to build out a financial operating system intended to completely digitise and automate the delivery of financial services on the continent.

The round was led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers with participation from V8 Capital, Lateral Investment Partners, Constant Capital and Itanna Capital Ventures.

“We’re excited not only to be securing a significant capital raise, but also welcoming on board some strategic investors whose support will be key to our growth journey. Today’s news allows us to scale Appzone’s products and services rapidly,” Appzone’s Co-Founder and CEO Obi Emetarom said.

“For the last 12 years, we’ve worked in stealth mode, building the really complex infrastructure to power the continent’s growing digital financial services space and forging partnerships with the continent’s biggest financial institutions.”

Launched in 2008, AppZone delivers best-in-class products for digital core banking and interbank transaction processing with clients across seven African countries including high-profile names like Access Bank, GT Bank and Zenith Bank.

Since its inception, the company, also an alumnus of the Google launchpad accelerator, has led Africa’s fintech sector through radical innovation that resulted in a number of global firsts from the continent, including the world’s first decentralised payment processing network, the first core banking and omni-channel software on the cloud and the first multi-bank direct debit service based on single global mandates.

To date, the company’s platforms have served 18 commercial banks and over 450 microfinance banks, amassing a yearly transaction value and yearly loan disbursement of US$2 billion and US$300 million respectively.

Currently, Appzone’s clients spread across Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), Tanzania, Senegal and Guinea and to-date, the company has raised US$15 million in equity funding with previous investors including Lateral Capital, GreenHouse Capital, Timon Capital and Itanna.

In 2018, the company obtained an officially approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate as a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) and has been the recipient of a number of industryawards including the Frost & Sullivan Award, NAMB (National Association of Microfinance Banks) and CeBIH (Committee of eBusiness Industry Heads) awards.

“Our investment in Appzone is further proof of Africa’s potential as the future hub of world classtechnology. Appzone is building a disruptive FinTech ecosystem that will be the backbone of Africa’s finance industry with products across payments, infrastructure and Software as a Service,” Yomi Jemibewon, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Cardinal Stone Capital Advisers said.

“The impactof Appzone’s work is multifold – the company’s products deepen financial inclusion across the continent whilst providing best-fit and low-cost solutions to financial institutions. Its emphasis on premium talent also helps stem brain drain, rewarding Africa’s best brains with best-in-class employment opportunities.”