Fintech Startup Leatherback Completes $10m Pre-seed Funding For Expansion

Leatherback, a cross-border payments network based in the United Kingdom, has received a $10 million Pre-Seed fundraising round from Zedcrest Capital, a major pan-African principal investment group.

The funding will allow the growing Fintech company to focus on critical activities, including hiring strategic roles, elevation in its marketing and branding strategy, and traction and visibility in the market.

Co-Founder and CEO Ibrahim Toyeeb says, ‘Some of the funding will be deployed to raise Leatherback’s profile in the Fintech arena as well as extend its capacity in the many countries it’s licensed in and where it is about to be approved. These include South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, India, and the UAE.”

“Building local capacity is not easy, yet it is core to how we operate at Leatherback. The capital injection will further strengthen the value we provide by ensuring a solid presence and infrastructure so we can offer solutions directly to customers with better pricing,” he says.

Toyeeb and his partner funded the operation themselves before collecting pre-seed money. “This is the first time we’ve raised money from a third party.” It’s a huge step forward that will help us to grow our company and realize our mission.”

Zedcrest Capital, according to Toyeeb, is aware of the possibility Leatherback is pursuing. “It has witnessed firsthand the limitations that exist in global commerce and banking opportunities for enterprises in frontier markets that have activities or goals beyond their immediate geography.”

“As primary investors, we love opportunities where we can bring our experience to bear,” Adedayo Amzat, Group Managing Director of Zedcrest Capital, explains. “It’s been a pleasure to provide operational and strategic help to Leatherback in its mission to create the ideal compliance, technology, and finance infrastructure that will enable it to become the operating system of choice for enterprises and individuals that travel globally.”

Leatherback will benefit from Zedcrest Capital’s operational and strategic support. The advice will aid the company in its efforts to market itself as more than just a worldwide neobank or payment platform. Toyeeb explains, “We plan to provide all the tools businesses need to have a genuinely worldwide presence.”

The CEO’s main goal is for the digital payments platform to become a single point of contact for firms looking to improve their global presence. Identity verification, payment processing, and even capital lending to expand across different markets will all be part of this.

Leatherback provides multi-currency accounts with the ability to exchange currency in a variety of countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Nigeria, Egypt, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.