Zap Africa

MARTHA Deployment at Scale

01What changed

12 wks: Delivery timeline
$25M+: Transactions processed
$100K+: Monthly revenue
Non-custodial: Wallet architecture

02The engagement

Zap Africa is a platform that allows users to buy, sell, and swap digital assets while maintaining non-custodial control of their funds.

Fig. 01 — Before, system, afterSame inputs. Different arrival.

Client: Zap Africa
Category: Fintech / Crypto Exchange
Our role: Development, Design, UX/UI, Strategy, Project Management
Launched: Oct 2023

03What we built

The Goal

The intervention

Zap Africa's mission is to create a simple and secure bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) across Africa and beyond. To bring this vision to life, Zap partnered with Cognito Systems to design and build a minimum viable product (MVP) that lets users buy, sell, and swap digital assets while maintaining non-custodial control of their funds.

04What was broken

The Challenge

The situation we found

Cognito faced a multi-faceted challenge: Integrating fiat gateways, crypto networks, and KYC/AML compliance under one platform. Building a multi-chain swap engine with real-time liquidity and minimal slippage. Designing a non-custodial wallet that ensures user control and data security. Achieving high performance on low-bandwidth mobile networks. Delivering a scalable MVP quickly, without compromising long-term architecture.

05What changed

The Result

Measured after launch

Launch Timeline: Delivered in just 12 weeks, enabling Zap to validate product-market fit. Growth: Processed $25M+ in transactions and scaled to $100K+ in monthly revenue. Scalability: Architecture supports staking, P2P trading, and future DeFi integrations. Impact: Empowered users to safely bridge TradFi and DeFi, aligning with Zap's mission to simplify and secure crypto management across Africa.

06What it runs on