Giftrice Reads Entrepreneurs Magazine Giftrice Reads Entrepreneurs Magazine | Page 23

B R A D & B R E T T M A C G R A T H S U C C E S S Zoona is a financial services business founded by two entrepreneurial brothers – Brad and Brett Macgrath in 2009. One is an ex-JP Morgan banker and the other is a former commercial director of a telecom operator in Zambia. The startup provides both in-country and cross-border money transfer services in several African countries – Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. And so far, it has processed more than $1 billion in money transfers, bill payments and other financial services. In 2016, Zoona raised $15 million of capital from a group of investors led by the International Finance Corporation. The funds are being used to scale up the company’s operations as it aims to reach ten markets and 30 million active consumers across Africa by 2020. The International Finance Corporation, or IFC, is an example of an international development institution. And there are several more like it that exist to support and invest in businesses, especially in developing regions of the world like Africa. Most international development institutions are funded or sponsored by foreign governments or global institutions like the World Bank, United Nations, European Union etc. S T O R I E S