Zambian Fintech Startup Union54 raises $3M Seed Funding

Zambian Fintech startup, Union54, has received further investment from Tiger Global, a leading venture capital firm.

The $3 million seed round, which was led by Tiger Global, while Ace & Company, Vibe VC, Todd & Rahul Angel Fund, and Runa Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm all participated in the round.

The startup also received cheques from angel investors including the CEO of Kuda bank, Babs Ogundeyi; Wise’s former director of SMB Growth, Gbenga Ajayi; and managing director of Renaissance Capital, Risana Zitha all participated in the round.

Union54 was founded by Perseus Mlambo and Alessandra Martini in 2021 as a spinoff from Zazu, a previous firm that they launched six years ago.

Its Application Programming Interface (API) enables software companies in Africa to issue and manage debit cards without interference from banks or third-party processors.

Union54 is currently operating with more than 50 companies – ranging from digital banks to post-Series A fintech and companies founded due to Union54’s availability – are in Union54’s API sandbox environment, with four companies currently in production and have begun issuing virtual cards to their customers.

Andre Bliznyuk, Runa’s general partner, said while speaking about the investment said that it will help Unio54 is helping firms offer Nigerians better services.

“The investment helps us to be able to go to them and say, ‘hey, we’re a well-funded company, we’ve got customers using us, we’re earning revenue and this is going to be one of the most important companies to come out of Africa.

“Supercharge the African fintech ecosystem by enabling their customers to easily launch new card-based products and deliver tangible value to the consumers,” said Bliznyuk.

Union54 currently has a small team of 10 located in Zambia, Nigeria, Europe, South Africa, and Malawi.