When people think about financial services, they often think in silos.Investment banks raise capital.Asset managers invest it.Stockbrokers connect investors to markets.Finance companies provide credit.Payment platforms move money.Each solves a different problem, often operating independently of one another. Zedcrest Group took a different view.The Group believed that Africa’s greatest financial challenge was not simply the availability […] Inside Zedcrest Group: The Financial ecosystem powering
When people think about financial services, they often think in silos.
Investment banks raise capital.
Asset managers invest it.
Stockbrokers connect investors to markets.
Finance companies provide credit.
Payment platforms move money.
Each solves a different problem, often operating independently of one another.
Zedcrest Group took a different view.
The Group believed that Africa’s greatest financial challenge was not simply the availability of capital, it was the efficient movement of capital. Businesses struggled to access funding, investors found limited opportunities, and individuals often navigated fragmented financial systems that made wealth creation more difficult than it needed to be.
Solving those challenges required more than building a successful financial institution. It required building an ecosystem.
That thinking has shaped Zedcrest Group since its founding in 2013.
What began as a fixed-income trading business in Victoria Island, Lagos, has steadily evolved into one of Africa’s most integrated financial services groups, with businesses spanning venture capital, investment banking, asset management, securities, consumer finance, and more recently, financial technology.
Each business performs a distinct role. Together, they serve a single purpose: improving capital flows across Africa.
Every financial ecosystem begins with capital.
Before businesses can grow, infrastructure can be financed, or entrepreneurs can build the next generation of companies; someone must be willing to invest early. That responsibility sits with Zedcrest Capital, the Group’s venture capital and principal investing business.
By backing high-potential businesses and productive sectors of the economy, Zedcrest Capital provides patient, strategic capital to founders and enterprises positioned to create long-term economic value. In markets where early-stage funding remains limited, the business reflects the Group’s belief that Africa’s most transformative companies will be built locally, and that long-term growth begins with long-term conviction.
But deploying capital is only one part of the equation.
Large-scale economic growth depends on institutions that can structure, raise, and distribute capital efficiently across markets. This is where Zedcrest Global Markets plays its role.
As the Group’s investment banking and capital markets business, it provides capital markets advisory, fixed income trading, structured finance, debt and equity capital raising, and financial advisory services to governments, corporates, and institutional investors. The acquisition of an Issuing House license further strengthened these capabilities, allowing the business to support clients throughout the entire capital raising lifecycle, from structuring transactions to successful execution.
It is also where the Group’s origins remain firmly rooted. The institutional credibility Zedcrest enjoys today was built on years of leadership in Nigeria’s fixed-income markets, providing the foundation upon which the wider Group has grown.
Yet capital markets cannot truly transform an economy if access is limited to institutions alone.
One of Zedcrest’s defining beliefs has been that wealth creation should be accessible to everyone, not just professional investors.
That philosophy led to the growth of Zedcrest Wealth, the Group’s asset management business.
Through professionally managed investment funds and the Zedcrest Wealth App, individuals can now save, invest, and build wealth from their mobile phones with the same level of professionalism traditionally reserved for institutional investors. The platform combines investment opportunities with financial education through initiatives such as the Zedcrest Wealth Academy and interactive financial literacy features, reinforcing the belief that empowering investors requires both access to products and access to knowledge.
Its Money Market Fund has consistently ranked among the strongest performers in its category, demonstrating that digital accessibility does not come at the expense of investment performance.
Of course, enabling people to invest also requires efficient access to capital markets.
That capability was significantly strengthened in 2024 with the acquisition of RMB Nigeria Stockbrokers, which was subsequently rebranded as Zedcrest Securities.
The transaction expanded the Group’s presence within Nigeria’s equities market while giving both retail and institutional investors research-driven access to listed securities. More recently, the launch of stockbroking directly within the Zedcrest Wealth App further simplified participation in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, allowing customers to manage professionally managed investments and direct equity investments from a single digital platform.
The result is a more seamless investment experience that reflects the Group’s broader ambition of removing friction from financial markets.
Yet even efficient capital markets cannot meet every financial need.
Businesses still require working capital.
Households still require access to credit.
This responsibility belongs to Zedvance Finance, the Group’s consumer and business financing subsidiary.
Through a range of lending solutions, Zedvance channels capital directly into the real economy, helping businesses expand and individuals meet their financial needs. Its flagship Liquidity Solutions product has been central to this mission, improving access to credit for businesses across key sectors of the economy. Since inception, Zedvance has deployed over ₦312 billion in financing, including more than ₦121 billion in 2025 alone, reflecting its growing role in driving business growth, supporting livelihoods, and expanding financial inclusion.
While other subsidiaries facilitate the movement of capital through markets, Zedvance ensures that capital reaches businesses and consumers where it can create immediate economic impact.
The evolution of the Group has not stopped there.
Recognising that the future of financial services extends beyond traditional banking and investment products, Zedcrest recently completed the acquisition of Leatherback, the UK-founded global payments and financial technology company.
The acquisition expands the Group’s capabilities into cross-border payments and financial technology, strengthening its ambition to build a globally connected financial services ecosystem. It also represents a natural progression of a relationship that began in 2021, reinforcing Zedcrest’s belief that the future of African finance will be defined not only by how capital is raised and invested, but also by how seamlessly it moves across borders.
Viewed individually, each Zedcrest business is a strong operator within its respective market.
Viewed together, they become something far more significant.
An entrepreneur can receive early-stage backing through Zedcrest Capital. A growing company can raise institutional funding through Zedcrest Global Markets. Individuals can build wealth through Zedcrest Wealth, access the equities market through Zedcrest Securities, obtain financing from Zedvance, and increasingly move money seamlessly across borders through Leatherback.
Each company solves a different challenge.
Each strengthens the others.
Together, they create an integrated financial ecosystem designed to ensure capital flows more efficiently from where it exists to where it is needed most.
For Group Managing Director Adedayo Amzat, that has always been the larger vision, not simply building successful financial businesses but building the infrastructure that allows African capital to move more freely, more efficiently, and with greater impact across the continent.
In an industry where many firms specialize in one segment of finance, Zedcrest has spent more than a decade building something different: an interconnected ecosystem where every business contributes to the same mission.
Because ultimately, the strength of Zedcrest Group is not measured by the number of companies within its portfolio.
It is measured by how effectively those businesses work together to improve capital flows and create lasting economic value across Africa.
ABOUT ZEDCREST GROUP
Founded in 2013, Zedcrest Group is an African financial services group providing integrated solutions across venture capital, investment banking, asset management, securities, financing, and financial technology. Through its businesses; Zedcrest Capital, Zedcrest Global Markets, Zedcrest Wealth (Zedcrest Investment Managers), Zedcrest Securities, Zedvance Finance, and Leatherback, the Group is committed to improving capital flows and delivering innovative financial solutions that drive economic growth across Africa and global markets.
Inside Zedcrest Group: The Financial ecosystem powering capital across Africa
