Nigerian fintech startup Hizo has announced the successful close of a $100,000 Friends & Family seed funding round completed on June 4, 2025. The capital injection marks a major milestone in the company’s mission to revolutionize how Africans transact across borders—enabling seamless, local currency-based payments throughout the continent.
Solving Africa’s Cross-Border Payment Puzzle
Despite the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gaining momentum, intra-African trade continues to be hampered by fragmented payment systems, steep conversion fees, and unreliable financial networks. Hizo is stepping into this gap with a platform purpose-built to streamline cross-border transactions in local currencies, allowing individuals and businesses to bypass the usual complications of remittances and currency exchange.
“Our platform removes the friction associated with traditional remittance solutions by allowing Africans to easily use their local currencies across multiple countries,” said Victor Chiedu, CEO of Hizo.
Unlike conventional remittance services that primarily cater to diaspora-to-home-country transfers, Hizo focuses on everyday, on-continent transactions—supporting real commerce, trade, and community-level financial flows within Africa.
Strategic Deployment of Funds
With its initial funding secured, Hizo is poised to upgrade its platform and expand its footprint across the African market. The funds will be directed toward:
- Enhancing product features through technical innovation and user-driven improvements.
- Expanding market presence, with a targeted approach to customer acquisition in key regional economies.
- Scaling operational capacity via staff training, strategic hiring, and process optimization.
These investments are designed to strengthen Hizo’s core infrastructure while preparing it for accelerated growth and deeper integration within Africa’s financial ecosystem.
Community-Driven Capital: A Deliberate Strategy
In a notable departure from the traditional venture capital path, Hizo opted for a Friends & Family funding round, signaling its commitment to grassroots investment and value-aligned backers.
“This approach is intentional,” Chiedu explained. “We sought out investors who genuinely share our vision and understand the importance of creating sustainable, community-driven solutions in Africa.”
By prioritizing local participation and early belief in the mission, Hizo aims to foster a strong foundation of trust, inclusion, and shared value creation—hallmarks of the company’s long-term strategy.
A New Frontier in Pan-African Fintech
Positioned at the nexus of fintech innovation and cross-border commerce, Hizo is emerging as a critical enabler of intra-African trade. Its unique focus on local currency interoperability challenges the dominance of foreign currencies in regional commerce and unlocks new possibilities for African entrepreneurs, traders, and digital consumers.
Looking forward, Hizo plans to integrate with additional payment service providers and expand its transaction capabilities across more African nations by the end of 2025.
“Our ultimate goal,” Chiedu concluded, “is to empower Africans to conduct business across borders without depending on foreign currencies. This funding round is a critical step in that journey.”
As Africa’s digital economy matures, Hizo is positioning itself not just as a payment solution—but as a movement reshaping how the continent does business with itself.