“Can a B2B e-commerce marketplace become the full financial operating system for Africa's informal retailers by bundling supply, payments, and credit?”
Founded 2019 as a B2B e-commerce marketplace (Alerzoshop) serving informal retailers in Nigeria. Extended into embedded finance via Alerzopay and later Veedez — POS terminals, digital wallet, agency banking, and working-capital lending — powered by an in-house CBN-licensed Payment Service Provider (Shago Payments Limited). Now positions as the 'operating system' for informal African retail, spanning commerce, payments, logistics, and business management.
Alerzo discloses Shago Payments Limited (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Alerzo does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Shago Payments Limited (in-house).
Alerzo processes payments through Shago Payments (in-house), Alerzopay (self-operated) and Veedez (self-operated).
Alerzo's lending and capital products are provided by Alerzopay (in-house).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Alerzo's stack: Payments / PSP (Shago Payments (in-house), Alerzopay (self-operated) and Veedez (self-operated)); Banking / BaaS (Shago Payments Limited (in-house)); Lending (Alerzopay (in-house) and Retailer working capital via Alerzopay).
Alerzo was founded by Adewale Opaleye and is founded in 2019, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria (with office in Ibadan).
Alerzo has raised $19.3M in total.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Alerzo and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.