“Can a vertically-focused edtech payments company become the financial operating system for schools and families across MENA and emerging markets by embedding BNPL and financial services into fee collection?”
Founded in June 2021 as nexopay in the UAE by two ex-McKinsey consultants, the company rebranded to zenda in 2022 after raising a $9.4M seed round. The core product evolved from a simple school fee payment app into a full education payments platform with embedded BNPL/tuition financing for parents, and financial operations tooling for schools. The company has pursued geographic expansion across UAE, India, and Egypt, positioning itself as a fintech partner embedded within the education vertical rather than a generic payments processor.
Zenda discloses Coastal Community Bank as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Zenda does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Coastal Community Bank.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Zenda's stack: Banking / BaaS (Coastal Community Bank); Lending (Tuition fee BNPL / installment financing for parents and Embedded tuition credit on flexible repayment structure); Sponsor bank (Coastal Community Bank).
Zenda was founded by Raman Thiagarajan and Haseeb Ahmed and is founded in 2021, headquartered in Dubai, UAE.
Zenda has raised $9.4M in total (latest round: Seed, April 2022).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Zenda 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.