African decentralized payment infrastructure ZONE announced the raising of $8.5 million in seed funding, with FLOURISH VENTURES and TLCOM CAPITAL as co-leaders, and participation from DCG, VKAV, and ALTER GLOBAL, among others. ZONE claims to be Africa's first regulated LAYER1 payment network and has already signed contracts with over 15 of Africa's largest banks and fintech companies. The new funds will be used for further expansion.