How Raba Partnership’s double down inspired South African Ezeebit’s $2.05 million seed raise

Raba Partnership has doubled down on its conviction in African fintech. The firm has led a $2.05 million seed funding round in South African crypto payments startup Ezeebit, backing a vision it believes is uniquely positioned to solve real commercial and payment problems across the continent.

The round, which also included Founder Collective and a high-profile group of angels from Visa, Revolut, Talos and BVNK, signals growing investor confidence in practical crypto infrastructure rather than speculative trading platforms. 

Raba Partnership’s decision to lead this round reflects its long-term strategy of backing African fintech ventures addressing foundational gaps in payments infrastructure. The firm has a history of early bets on infrastructure-centric companies such as Stitch and has demonstrated a consistent focus on enabling payments, banking and crypto infrastructure across the continent.

In the case of Ezeebit, multiple structural trends make the offering compelling. Sub-Saharan Africa remains underserved by traditional payment rails: credit card penetration is low (4% for adults), and many merchants rely on slow, expensive, or fragmented systems.

At the same time, mobile money adoption is rising, and digital payments via QR codes have become increasingly common.

The Cape Town-based startup’s value proposition, enabling merchants to accept crypto and stablecoin payments from any wallet, with instant settlement in stablecoin and next-day local fiat payouts, directly addresses these frictions. Fees are competitive, set at 1% or lower depending on volume, representing a potentially huge saving compared to traditional card payments.

The startup’s momentum also weighed in. Since launching in 2023, Ezeebit has reportedly processed over 30,000 transactions, totalling millions in gross merchandise value, and has already secured several recognisable retail and lifestyle brands, including iStore, Diesel, Amiri and Le Creuset, among its clients. 

For Raba Partnership, which describes itself as more than just a venture fund, aiming instead to build long-term partnerships with founders, Ezeebit fits neatly into its playbook: supporting companies that build foundational payment or financial infrastructure capable of scaling across Africa.

According to George Rzepecki, founder at Raba Partnership, Sub-Saharan Africa, being the most expensive region for cash transfer creates an opportunity.

“Ezeebit is rebuilding the payment stack with compliant stablecoin and crypto rails. Regulatory clarity in key African markets creates a rare window to build this infrastructure at scale,” he added.

Ezeebit’s new investment: A calculated bet on real crypto utility

Raba Partnership’s leadership of the round reflects a broader shift among institutional investors towards crypto companies focused on utility. Founder Collective’s participation adds further validation, given its history of backing category-defining global startups at the seed stage.

George Rzepecki, founder at Raba Partnership

The angel roster brings deep domain expertise. Terry Angelos, formerly at Visa, understands global payments infrastructure. Anton Katz of Talos brings institutional crypto market experience. David De Picciotto’s background at Revolut adds perspective on scaling fintech across jurisdictions, while BVNK’s Chris Harmse has built crypto payments infrastructure in regulated markets. This mix of expertise aligns closely with Ezeebit’s ambitions.

The funding will be used to accelerate product development and merchant acquisition across South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. These three markets offer a strategic blend of regulatory clarity, high transaction volumes, and acute payment pain points.

Ezeebit plans to expand integrations with local payment providers while deepening its stablecoin settlement capabilities.

Raba is particularly bullish on Ezeebit’s merchant-first go-to-market strategy. Rather than targeting retail users or traders, the startup works directly with businesses that already handle high transaction volumes. This creates clear unit economics and reduces reliance on speculative demand, a key risk factor that has plagued many crypto startups.

In markets like Nigeria and Kenya, where remittance costs remain high and conventional payment rails are often slow or fragmented, Ezeebit appears poised to offer a more efficient alternative.

Its wallet-agnostic platform supports payments from a variety of wallets, including custodial, DeFi or foreign wallets, and integrates via POS devices, QR codes, e-commerce plugins and APIs.

For Raba Partnership, leading the seed round is not just a bet on one company. It is a statement about the future of payments in emerging markets. Crypto, in this view, is becoming invisible infrastructure. What matters is cost, speed, compliance, and reliability.