A Cambridge-based Zimbabwean engineer has launched Topa, a mobile app that lets people abroad pay schools, councils, shops and property developers in Zimbabwe directly, rather than sending cash for relatives to spend.
Founder Lee Masuka unveiled the Topa app on Oct. 3 at the UK-Zimbabwe Business Expo & Property Show in Birmingham. Users pay in pounds from a UK bank account, and the money goes to the provider with the customer’s reference attached, the company said.
The app’s pitch is to send the reason for a payment, not just the money. Masuka said remittances often reach families as cash, which can be delayed, or spent on something other than its intended purpose. “Cash in a pocket simply does not know what it was sent for,” he said.
Services include electricity tokens, school and university fees, council rates, water, airtime on more than 500 mobile networks, groceries, DStv and medical aid. Topa also handles property deposits, instalments, rent and payments to building-material suppliers. Investment products such as stock purchases through licensed brokers are listed as coming soon.
The company said there is no Topa fee on airtime and most services, with the business being paid covering a small commission. The exchange rate is shown before a payment is confirmed, it said.
The launch comes as Zimbabwe’s diaspora sends record sums home. The country received US$2.45 billion in remittances in 2025, up 14%, with the United Kingdom overtaking South Africa as the largest source market, according to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe figures cited in launch materials. The African Development Bank puts the true figure, including informal channels, nearer US$3.5 billion.
Behind Topa is ClicknShare, a Cambridge-registered network that connects remittance firms, banks and apps to the businesses receiving the money. Masuka said the model cuts the number of integrations needed. By his count, 24 remitters and 24 providers would need 576 separate connections, but only 48 through ClicknShare.
Masuka also runs ClicknPay Remit, an FCA-registered UK remittance business with about 5,000 customers sending money to Zimbabwe, and ClicknPay Africa, a mobile-wallet payments platform he says serves more than 700,000 customers across Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa.
Money transfers currently run through an FCA-authorized partner while ClicknShare applies for its own authorization, and the company is raising seed funding to add corridors, it said. The company is also adding providers in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa.
Topa is not the only service targeting that market. EcoCash launched a Diaspora Wallet at Zimfest Live in Northampton this summer, letting Zimbabweans abroad pay merchants and service providers in Zimbabwe directly.
To mark the launch, Topa is running a promotion until Dec. 31 in which people in Zimbabwe who are paid for through the app are entered into a draw for a Honda Vezel, along with televisions, bicycles and airtime.
Topa is a Shona word meaning we are giving, and the app is available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
