Login

Lost your password?

Sign Up

Register

Login

Login

Lost your password?

Register

Friday, May 27, 2022
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion

Africa's
Investment
Gateway

The Exchange
  • Login
  • Register
Subscribe
This Month's Edition
Previous Editions
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
LOGIN
Zenda is envisioned to go beyond school fee payment by encompassing other personal financial management aspects/ Zenda

Zenda is envisioned to go beyond school fee payment by encompassing other personal financial management aspects/ Zenda

UAE-based edtech startup expanding into Africa after US$9.4 million funding

Formerly known as nexopay, the firm plans to penetrate the African market through Egypt in the coming months as the firm embarks on a growth drive accelerated by a US$9.4 million seed funding it has raised.

by Kanyali Muthui
April 26, 2022
in Tech & Business
0
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
  • Through its app, Zenda allows parents to pay fees directly to schools, all while streamlining collections by enabling schools to accept and manage online payments
  • Parents do not necessarily need to provide bank deposit slips as proof of payment because all transactions on Zenda happen in real-time
  • Zenda’s users have increased 20 fold, with the app reaching over US$100 million in annual contracted payment volumes by the close of last year

UAE- based startup Zenda is now eyeing Africa as its next frontier market for growth. 

The company which is looking to change how parents pay school fees and the way in which educational institutions manage the collection of fees is looking to expand its reach to Africa. 

Formerly known as nexopay, the firm plans to penetrate the African market through Egypt in the coming months as the firm embarks on a growth drive accelerated by a US$9.4 million seed funding it has raised.

Through its app, Zenda allows parents to pay fees directly to schools, all while streamlining collections by enabling schools to accept and manage online payments.

Through the app, parents do not necessarily need to provide bank deposit slips as proof of payment because all transactions on Zenda happen in real-time. 

The startup also has an embedded financing option that extends tuition fee credit to parents on a flexible repayment structure.

Founded in June last year by Raman Thiagarajan and Haseeb Ahmed, both ex-McKinsey & Company staff, the company is the duo’s second venture.

Thiagarajan said that the Zenda borrows from their first social edtech startup dubbed nexquare, a management and data analytics system for schools, educators and regulators. 

Thiagarajan, who previously led McKinsey’s financial services practice in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, said that their first startup helped them understand the education market at a granular level, enabling them to build a fintech solution that solves the challenges encountered by parents and the schools around fee payment and management.

“Fee payments in schools are mostly manual, and where it is digital, it is cumbersome, expensive and has a manual aspect to it,” said Thiagarajan.

“With all the knowledge we have from our previous venture, we understand the education sector. And so, we have a parent-facing app…  we also deeply integrate into educational institutions to remove the friction for both the parents and the schools,” he added.

Among the investors that took part in the seed round were STV, COTU Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and VentureSouq.

The STV general partner Ihsan Jawad said, “Raman, Haseeb and the team have identified a compelling gap in the market and in supporting families on a topic that is very important to them. Seeing their strong traction over the past several months, we couldn’t be more excited about Zenda. The UAE itself is a $8+ billion market for private education fees and they are already well poised to capture leadership.”

Since launch, Thiagarajan says, Zenda’s users have increased 20 fold, with the app reaching over US$100 million in annual contracted payment volumes by the close of last year. 

The startup is also eyeing greater growth this year as it accelerates its expansion beyond the U.A.E using the new funding, which will also support the refinement of its product.

“Most of the funding is going to be used in the area of market development and customer experience,” Thiagarajan said.

In the long-term, Zenda is envisioned to go beyond school fee payment by encompassing other personal financial management aspects.

“Our mission is to help families thrive. We aim to make it easier for families to manage their money, and to enable their financial wellness … We see a need for family-centric products that are simple and collaborative,” Thiagarajan said.

READ: NSSF partners with M-Pesa in cashless drive

Tags: AfricaedtechEducationExpansion into AfricaFundingInnovationLearningpayment structuresZenda

STATE OF ECONOMY - GET THE REPORT

ASSESSING EAST AFRICA

Loading...

Kanyali Muthui

Kanyali Cynthia is a Kenyan-based financial journalist with key specialisation in data and tech reporting and over eight years of experience.

Related Posts

Central Africa Republic to launch Africa’s cryptocurrency investment hub www.theexchange.africa
Tech & Business

After defying IMF on Bitcoin, Central Africa Republic to launch cryptocurrency investment hub

May 25, 2022
Mastercard, OPay partner to grow cashless ecosystem www.theexchange.africa
Tech & Business

Mastercard bites a bigger chunk of Africa’s fintech with OPay partnership

May 24, 2022
Twiga Foods launch new subsidiary
Investing

Twiga Foods invests $10 million to launch new subsidiary

May 18, 2022
Next Post
Afriex has raised US$10 million for its blockchain money transfer program as it aims to overrun Western Union and Money Gram in the market. www.theexchange.africa

Nigeria: Blockchain money transfer startup Afriex raises US$10 million funding

www.theexchange.africa

Rwanda: AfDB gives Kigali $180 million to support electricity, clean energy projects

NGO Adeso seeks to decolonize aid through endowment of grants and a web program. www.theexchange.africa

Adeso to grow US$5 million grants into US$50 million project

Please login to join discussion




This months edition

May Edition

Features

EdTech role in African development
Tech & Business

EdTech’s role in African development

by Kanyali Muthui
May 16, 2022
0

Due to the pandemic, the topic of innovation in education has never been more crucial.  While most developed countries moved...

Read more
investment in African science and technology
Tech & Business

Investing in Africa’s science and technology: Where are we now?

by Kanyali Muthui
May 16, 2022
0

The continent’s digital revolution can largely be driven by building the necessary skills for the short- and long-term future, and...

Read more
Fintech revolution in Africa
Tech & Business

The Fintech Revolution in Africa’s FX Markets

by Kanyali Muthui
May 11, 2022
0

With over 548 million registered mobile money users in sub-Saharan Africa, increased internet access and readily available mobile money solutions,...

Read more
www.theexchange.africa
Countries

US – Nigeria Trade Relations: An Overview

by Wanjiku Njugunah
May 2, 2022
0

Nigeria is currently the United States' 54th largest goods trading partner, with US$7.8 billion in total goods trade as of...

Read more
A previous conference for African Insurtech sector. The Insurtech boom is deepening insurance uptake in Africa. www.theexchange.africa
Tech & Business

Insurtech boom deepening the uptake of insurance in Africa

by june njoroge
May 2, 2022
0

Kenya-based Pula is another distinguished insurtech making waves in the continent. It provides small scale farmers with agricultural insurance and...

Read more

News

Banking
Industry & Trade
Investing
Money Deals
Regional Markets
Tech & Biz
Opinion

Countries

Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Burundi
Rwanda
Southern Africa
Ethiopia

More

My Account
Contact us
Advertise
About us
Help Center

Subscribers Center

E-paper
Premium Stories
Education Rates
Corporate Subscriptions
Weekely Newsletter

  • My account
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy – The Exchange
  • Sitemap

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2021 The Exchange - Powered by MediapixManaged by Supported by Digihandler,

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In