Africa’s digital economy is booming, but scams and a lack of trust remain major barriers to growth. From social media sellers disappearing after payment to freelancers struggling to collect fair compensation, trust gaps are eroding confidence in online commerce.
This is where escrow steps in. By acting as a neutral middle layer, escrow ensures money only changes hands when both sides keep their promises. Buyers deposit funds into a secure account, sellers deliver the goods or services, and only after the buyer confirms receipt are the funds released. It’s a simple process that protects buyers from fraud and sellers from non-payment, creating the foundation of trust digital commerce desperately needs.
Players like EscrowLock and Truzo have already made their mark in this space, with Truzo becoming the first African-focused FCA-approved digital escrow service in 2023.
Now, a new contender, Pandascrow, is emerging as a strong force, quietly carving out its niche by delivering the trust and security essential for Africa’s fast-growing e-commerce, B2B transactions, and cross-border trade.
When you speak with Precious Tom, Founder & CEO of Pandascrow, the first thing that strikes you is the clarity of his mission. His journey is not a textbook founder story; it is born out of lived frustration, everyday realities of African commerce, and the simple yet stubborn question: “Why should trust be so expensive in business?”
Growing up in Nigeria, Precious saw firsthand how fragile trust was in small transactions. His defining “aha” moment was painfully common: he tried to purchase a product via Instagram, made the payment, and the seller disappeared. No goods. No refunds. Just silence. “It dawned on me that trust breaks down every single day in business, especially on social platforms like Instagram and TikTok. And when trust breaks, it doesn’t just hurt the buyer, it makes life harder for sellers too,” he recalls.
That everyday frustration gave birth to Pandascrow, a digital escrow platform designed to be a safety net for online transactions. Founded in November 2024 by Precious Tom and Isaac David, the startup is barely a year old.
Unlike traditional escrow services, which are expensive, slow, and heavily paper-based, Pandascrow brings automation, ease of use, and accessibility for the everyday entrepreneur, freelancer, or consumer.
Today, the company is quietly building what could become Africa’s default “trust layer” for digital commerce.
Reinventing an old idea for new realities
Escrow is not new. Banks have been offering it for decades, ensuring payments are only released when both parties honor their end of the agreement. But as Precious explains, “That system was never designed for someone buying a $50 shoe from Instagram or paying a freelance designer $200. Imagine filling five to ten pages of paperwork for such small transactions; it’s insane.”
This is where Pandascrow steps in. The team has reimagined escrow as a simple, four-step digital process where buyers and sellers define the transaction terms, funds are held securely until the buyer confirms delivery, and payments are released automatically through a unique six-digit code. “Everything is automated. No middleman, no endless forms. Just trust, coded into a process,” Precious says.
The result is a system that not only protects buyers from fraud but also shields sellers from unfair scope creep, such as clients adding extra work without paying more.
Meeting Africa where it is
Unlike global fintech platforms, Pandascrow has been built with African realities in mind. Payments in the region aren’t just card-based, they’re often conducted through mobile money or direct bank transfers. Commerce doesn’t only happen on Shopify storefronts, it thrives on WhatsApp groups and Instagram feeds.
“We knew if we wanted to scale trust, we had to make Pandascrow usable by the everyday businessperson on the street. That meant designing for mobile money, for WhatsApp sellers, for freelancers with no formal setup,” Precious explains.
The company also streamlined the traditionally painful KYC (Know Your Customer) process. Instead of demanding heaps of documents, Pandascrow asks only for essentials, making onboarding faster and keeping users from dropping off midway.
This attention to local usability sets Pandascrow apart from banks and traditional escrow providers, as well as global fintech players that haven’t localized deeply enough.
Building with lessons from failure and partnership
Precious is a second-time founder, and his earlier experiences in technology, operations, and marketing gave him a panoramic view of what it takes to build. Still, he admits the journey needed more than just him. “I started alone, but I knew I needed someone who complemented my weaknesses. That’s when my co-founder, Isaac David, came onboard. He now handles day-to-day operations while I focus on product and technology,” Precious shares.
The duo’s partnership has been key to moving Pandascrow beyond just an idea. They have leaned heavily on strategic partnerships instead of reinventing the wheel. Integrations with banks, payment gateways like Paystack, and KYC providers such as Dojah and NIBSS have allowed them to plug into existing infrastructure while focusing on their core—trust automation.
A business model built for accessibility
Pandascrow’s business model is designed with accessibility at its core. The platform runs on a pay-as-you-go structure, where users only pay when they themselves get paid. “We didn’t want to burden business owners with upfront fees,” Precious explains.
For larger partners who integrate Pandascrow’s APIs into their own solutions, the company offers a credit-based system similar to how AWS charges for usage. Additional revenue also flows in from ads displayed within Pandascrow’s storefronts, giving merchants the option to promote their shops for greater visibility.
This layered monetization ensures that small businesses can start without heavy costs, while scale comes through B2B integrations and advertising.
In just over a year, Pandascrow has processed more than $150,000 in transaction volume, onboarded over 1,000 users that include freelancers, SMEs, and individuals, and signed up 200 businesses as merchants. Monthly recurring revenue has climbed to over $4,000, growing at a steady 10 percent month-on-month, with a strong 79 percent retention rate on repeat transactions.
The platform now operates across Nigeria’s key commercial hubs - Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Akwa Ibom. Along the way, the company has launched its MVP, opened APIs, achieved regulatory compliance, and forged critical partnerships.
“It’s been scrappy, but effective. We bootstrapped at first - funded it from my first startup. Then we raised investment from an angel investor, who believed in our vision. That support helped us clear regulatory hurdles, which was critical,” Precious says.
Now, Pandascrow is preparing to announce a new fundraising round. “We’re ready to scale. We’re looking for investors who can move fast - people who understand the urgency and potential of what we’re building,” he adds with characteristic frankness.
Becoming the “Stripe for Trust”
Pandascrow’s ambitions are bold. Over the next 12 months, the company plans to expand into Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, introduce savings and credit features linked to escrow history, and open up B2B cross-border contracts for trade while securing additional licenses in new markets.
The long-term vision is to become nothing less than the default escrow platform globally. “We want Pandascrow to be the first name people think of when they think escrow,” Precious says. Or as he frames it more sharply: “Pandascrow is building global trust for digital commerce, starting from Africa.”
Storefronts, freelancers, and the road ahead
The company is not stopping at escrow. This week, Pandascrow is rolling out storefronts, enabling small businesses to upload products, sell directly to customers, and have every transaction protected by escrow.
Next, they plan to launch an “Upwork for Africans”, a freelance marketplace tailored to local realities, with escrow baked in to ensure trust at every step.
Lessons from the trenches
Precious has learned some tough lessons along the way - lessons he is eager to pass on to other fintech founders. Regulation, he emphasizes, is not optional. “We nearly got burned here. Thankfully, angel funding helped us meet compliance in time. Never ignore regulation.” Partnerships, too, are critical. “Don’t try to reinvent everything. Integrate with banks, fintechs, and payment providers. Build only what doesn’t exist.”
He highlights the importance of user experience. “At first, our product was complex. We refined it by listening to users, simplifying until anyone could use escrow without tutorials. That’s when adoption really grew.” And he leaves fellow entrepreneurs with a caution against chasing hype: “In 2025, everyone is chasing AI. Don’t just build for hype. Build for context. Real problems equal real opportunities.”
His advice is simple but profound: “Don’t skip the hard problems. The bigger the pain point, the bigger the opportunity. Keep talking to users. They’ll guide you to the real market.”
A call to investors
As Pandascrow gears up for its next phase of growth, the company is preparing to close a new funding round. Precious notes that speed will be critical in this process, with the team looking to partner with investors who understand both the urgency of the market opportunity and the long-term potential of building a global trust infrastructure for digital commerce.
It was a reminder that beyond the vision, the traction, and the advice, Pandascrow remains in the thick of the founder’s hustle - building, scaling, raising, and dreaming all at once.
Africa’s digital economy is growing rapidly, but its growth hinges on one fragile thread: trust. By making escrow simple, automated, and accessible, Pandascrow is not just solving a financial problem; it is rebuilding the very foundation of commerce.
As Precious puts it, “We’re not just building an escrow service. We’re building trust. And trust is the most valuable currency in business.”