Burundi is one of the world's poorest countries by GDP per capita — but poverty is not a lack of ambition. Burundians are entrepreneurial, resilient, and increasingly mobile-connected. The challenge is infrastructure: unreliable power, limited banking penetration, and a history of instability that has kept international platforms away.

How ZUMA Solves This Country’s Specific Challenges

Wallet First: In Burundi, ZUMA's first product is the wallet — a stored-value account that works on any phone, including feature phones via USSD. Where 90% of adults are unbanked, a simple trusted digital wallet is transformative on its own.

Micro-Commerce: Burundi's informal traders — selling vegetables, clothing, electronics — operate entirely in cash with no digital trail. ZUMA's merchant wallet gives them a payment QR code, a transaction history, and a path to microcredit based on their sales.

Cross-Border Payments: Many Burundians work in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Congo and send money home. Remittances currently cost 8-12%. ZUMA's flat 1.5% wallet-to-wallet transfer saves families hundreds of dollars a year.

Where ZUMA Operates

Launch: 2027 · Currency: BIF · Payments: Lumicash, EcoCash.