Would you quit your stable job at Goldman Sachs to start your own crypto company in Nigeria amid a bear market? That’s precisely what our co-founder, Moore Dagogo-Hart did. Meanwhile, our founder and CEO, Tobiloba Asu-Johnson, was completing his master’s degree while laying the foundation for what would become Zap Africa.
Where it all Began
Zap didn’t start as a business idea. It began as a friendship. Tobi and Moore have known each other back when they were 9 years old. Though they attended different universities, they still shared a deep interest in tech and finance. It was during both their university years that they became fully immersed in crypto. But unlike most traders who relied on custodial exchanges, they went the opposite way. They had always been ”DeFi guys,” and they saw the potential of non-custodial exchanges early on and only had their assets in them.
Then came the wake-up call
The year was 2022. Platforms like Patricia, FTX and Celsius were collapsing, one after the other, Bitcoin had plummeted to $20K, and trust in Nigerian crypto platforms was at an all-time low. They watched as friends, family and everyday people saw their life savings disappear overnight. This caused one of, if not the major challenge in the Nigerian crypto space faces: trust.
Why? Users have no real control over their assets
Tobi and Moore knew there was a better way. So, they decided to create a solution. They weren’t looking at it from a business perspective, but more as traders who knew what the community truly needed. That’s when Zap was born.
They envisioned a platform where users wouldn’t have to depend on any central entity to hold their funds, a platform where financial security and autonomy were non-negotiable. And that’s when they decided to build Nigeria’s first-ever non-custodial exchange.
Building Zap in the Face of Challenges
Starting a company is never easy, but launching a crypto exchange in the middle of a bear market in a country with unclear regulations? That made it even harder.
There was and still isn’t a clear enough framework for digital assets in Nigeria. This was one of the biggest challenges they faced at first. That’s why securing Zap’s EU VASP license early on was a major milestone.
Funding was another unexpected milestone for us. Zap’s pre-seed round closed at a $4 million valuation, something many startups struggle to achieve so early. You always hear stories of startups struggling for years, scraping by on small rounds, but this brand secured $300K in its first year, allowing the company to scale faster than initially anticipated.
Another big challenge was working with banks. A lot of financial institutions are still very traditional, so they’re quite hesitant to support crypto exchanges. This then leads to difficulties in integrating with them as partners. Even in countries with clearer regulations, banks often impose restrictions that make it harder for users to transact seamlessly.
One of the most important and difficult challenges was building the right team. Hiring skilled individuals is one thing, but finding people with the right mindset is another. Anyone can have a great CV and the right technical skills, but if their attitude isn’t right, it becomes a problem. The founders had to focus not just on recruiting talent but on building a team that can lead and scale together. That foundation is what continues to drive Zap forward today.
And then there’s trust. After so many failed crypto platforms, why should users believe in Zap? The answer is simple: consistency. The longer Zap stayed, the more people trusted them. That trust is what allows the company to grow.
Over the past year, Zap has seen a significant shift. There are more users, bigger transaction volumes and increased confidence in the Zap platform.
Zap into the Future
Now, Zap is gearing up for our biggest innovation yet… a non-custodial wallet. With it, you will have complete control over your crypto assets. No third-party access. No restrictions. Just pure financial freedom.
With the wallet, you will still have access to Zap’s usual fast swaps, but we’re also introducing international payments, which will make it easier for you to send and receive money across borders in any currency. This is something that hasn’t been done in Africa at scale before.
Another major part of this wallet will be spending. Payments are a big challenge in Nigeria, and we see crypto as a way to solve that problem. So, Zap is building a virtual card, which will allow you to spend your crypto easily.
This is just the beginning. Over time, Zap plans to introduce more ecosystem products. The goal is to create a platform where people can access any financial service they need, all powered by crypto.
In the long run, we don’t just want to see Zap as just a Nigerian exchange. Our vision isn’t just “Nigeria to the future,” it’s Africa to the future. We want Zap to be the go-to crypto platform for Africans. That’s why we’re currently working on expansion into Canada, the US, Europe, and the UK.
Zap is about redefining financial independence in Africa, ensuring that people are no longer at the mercy of failing platforms and broken systems. At the heart of it all are two childhood friends who refused to let obstacles stand in their way.
