Fintech Company, Zazuu shuts down all of its operations

Just when we thought we had enough layoffs and closedowns for the year, another fintech company that has served Africans for a while,  Zazuu, announced it is finally closing down. While the product lasted, it ensured its users could send money seamlessly to different African countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. 

Zazuu, founded in 2018 by Kay Akinwunmi, Korede Fanilola, Tosin Ekolie, and Tola Alade, has worked as a payment system for many Africans for about 4 years and has just recently raised about $ 2million after acquiring a $200,000 seed in 2018. The company raised funds successfully because they got support from investors such as Founders Factory Africa and Launch Africa, along with individual investors like Jason Njoku from irokoTV and Babs Ogundeyi, the CEO of Kuda.

However, on the 20th of November, 2023, the company broke the news of its closure to the public, stating that the decision was made because they could not continue funding the product even though they tried their best. The startup acknowledged that departing was challenging for them, yet they affirmed their departure with pride in their achievements and the valuable lessons learned. 

Also, the company extended significant gratitude to its exceptional team, loyal customers, supportive investors, and committed partners for believing in its vision. They credited this belief for motivating them to persevere. 

How is the Public taking this news? 

Many users who have been familiar with Zazuu for a while expressed their concerns and aired their grievances on social media, especially Twitter, now known as X. 

A Twitter user took to his page to rhetorically inquire about the reasons behind Zazuu's closure. They were curious if the remittance market size played a role or if the company faced under-capitalization. Also, they questioned whether the founders lost momentum or experienced management misalignment. The series of questions tweeted also raised the possibility of issues related to people, product, market, or business model alignment contributing to the closure.

Also, an ex-employee of Zazuu tweeted that they left the company in March because operating conditions became too challenging due to macroeconomic factors. They described this period as the most challenging in their career but mentioned gaining valuable lessons from the experience and transitioning into an engineer with a heightened focus on the bottom line. Also, they didn't fail to praise the incredible team they had at Zazuu. 

Another ex-employee tweeted; 

"Left Zazuu in Dec 2022 for the same reasons and it's still hands down the best team I've worked with so far in my career. Kay (the CEO) used to call us Snipers, and boy was it an accurate name. Never had the course to question the brilliance/effectiveness of any of my teammates.

It's a shame to see Zazuu go, but I believe the future holds great things for everyone who works there including the management." 

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