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Visa, Moniepoint Join Forces to Accelerate Financial Inclusion in Africa

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Moniepoint Inc, one of Nigeria’s leading business payments and banking services platforms, has secured an investment from Visa, a global leader in digital payments.

The investment marks an important milestone in Visa’s commitment to advancing financial inclusion and shaping the future of digital payments while fostering SME growth across Africa.

Founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint (formerly known as TeamApt) has established itself as a leading financial platform for Nigeria’s vast network of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), offering an integrated suite of services, including digital payments, bank accounts, credit, foreign exchange (FX), and management tools.

The platform processes over 1 billion transactions monthly, with total payments volume exceeding $22 billion, enabling businesses to digitize their operations and thrive in Africa’s rapidly evolving economy.

With this investment, Visa supports Moniepoint’s mission to empower African businesses, further accelerating its growth and expansion across the continent. Moniepoint’s profitable and scalable business model, alongside its strong operational and financial track record, has positioned it as a transformative force in the African fintech ecosystem.

As Africa’s Fintech landscape continues to evolve rapidly, driven by a dynamic ecosystem and a focus on bridging the financial inclusion gap, Visa has been at the forefront of this transformation, putting its expertise and resources to work in support of the growth of African Fintech startups.

Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint Inc., said: “We are thrilled to announce Visa’s investment in Moniepoint. Visa’s backing is a strong endorsement of our vision to digitize and support African businesses at scale.

“Together, we aim to deepen financial inclusion, enabling SMEs to access the tools and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy. Given that about 83% of employment across Africa is in the informal economy, we are very keen to widen access and participation in the formal financial system and drive economic growth across Africa.”

He continued, “Visa’s expertise in global payments and Moniepoint’s proven ability to serve African businesses make this partnership an exciting opportunity in shaping the continent’s economic future even as we pave the way for a more inclusive and dynamic financial ecosystem.

“We are delighted in joining forces with Visa to enhance the digital payment infrastructure, expanding financial services, and fostering innovation in Africa.”

Andrew Torre, Regional President, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Visa, added: “Moniepoint has built an impressive platform that directly addresses the needs of Africa’s SMEs, a critical segment in enabling economic development.

“By making financial services and digital payments more accessible and efficient, Moniepoint is helping transform how businesses operate in Nigeria and beyond. We are excited to support their next phase of growth and innovation.”

“Visa’s investment in Moniepoint is the latest example of our long-standing commitment to advancing digital economies in Africa. We will enable even the smallest businesses to thrive through innovative payment and software solutions that allow SMEs to scale and open new revenue opportunities, while streamlining their operations.”

Moniepoint has experienced exponential growth since its founding in 2015, with revenues increasing by over 150% CAGR in recent years. The company’s efforts to expand access to financial services align closely with Visa’s mission of enabling individuals and businesses to thrive in the global economy.

Congratulating both parties, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) celebrates this strategic investment in Moniepoint, highlighting it as proof of Nigeria’s attractiveness for investors due to its favorable business climate.

Furthermore, the NIPC praised Moniepoint as an exemplar of Nigerian excellence contributing significant value to the global financial ecosystem. The Commission emphasized its commitment to supporting investors and fostering economic cooperation in finance and technology to help Nigeria reach its full economic potential.

This partnership combines Moniepoint’s local expertise and innovative business model with Visa’s global resources and capabilities. Together, Moniepoint and Visa aim to accelerate the digital transformation of African SMEs, driving financial inclusion and long-term economic prosperity.

Visa joins other notable investors including Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, Lightrock, QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), Global Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst in advancing Moniepoint’s mission to create a society where everyone experiences financial happiness.


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Investing in Innovation Africa Shifts Focus to Growth-stage Startups in Response to US Aid “stop-work” Directive

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Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative for startups building the future of healthcare supply chains, has made a pivotal change to its third cohort selection to prioritize the immediate support for between five and seven growth-stage companies building the future of pharmacy care in Africa.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, i3 is dedicated to facilitating the commercialization of promising early- and growth-stage companies.

Selected startups receive introductions to leading potential customers in industry, donor agencies and governments, grant funding, and tailored investment readiness support from leading accelerators Villgro Africa, IMPACT Lab, Startupbootcamp Afritech, and CcHUB.

This comes in response to the United States (US) State Department’s “stop-work” directive for foreign aid issued on January 25, which is anticipated to impact the distribution of essential medicine in Africa’s healthcare supply chains.

The order highlights and intensifies the need for locally-driven, market-creating approaches to health product distribution and service delivery across Africa.

 


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Fidelity Bank to Launch Dedicated SME Hub for Small Businesses and Creative Entrepreneurs

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Fidelity Bank, a leading financial institution, has announced the imminent launch of its dedicated physical facility for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurs in the creative sector.

Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc

Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc

Known as the Fidelity SME Hub, the multipurpose facility features training halls, meeting rooms, networking spaces, podcast rooms as well as music, photography and content production studios.

“For nearly four decades, Fidelity Bank has been at the forefront of supporting small businesses in achieving their potential and driving the nation’s economy. During this time, we have recognized that SMEs require more than just financial assistance. This realization has led to the implementation of various non-financial initiatives tailored to support this sector.

“The Fidelity SME Hub is our latest non-financial solution for SME growth. The facility is designed to foster innovation, collaboration, and capacity-building -vital elements necessary for strengthening Nigeria’s SME ecosystem and driving economic growth”, commented Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc in a chat with journalists recently.

Located at the heart of Lagos, the Fidelity SME Hub will provide entrepreneurs with networking and stakeholder engagement initiatives as well as access to industry experts and mentors for hands-on guidance and business advice. A key feature of the facility is the Creativerse, a well-equipped space for entrepreneurs in the creative industry.

The bank has also announced the launch of dedicated courses to be hosted at the SME Hub in areas such as Financial Management & Investment Readiness, Digital Transformation & Technology Adoption, Marketing, Branding, and Business Growth Strategies. Furthermore, a fully-fledged creative academy will be established to cover courses on Music Production, the Business of Music, Website Design & Development, Mobile Videography, Disc Jockey and Photography. To see a comprehensive list of available courses or to apply, please visit https://www.fidelitybank.ng/smehub/.

Explaining further, Onyeali-Ikpe said, “Beyond empowering small businesses, the Fidelity SME Hub will also serve to bolster our non-oil exports drive as we empower SMEs to increase their contribution to Nigeria’s non-oil GDP thus supporting government’s economic diversification drive. Through our investment in Creativerse in particular, we anticipate that content creators will unlock new revenue streams in entertainment, digital media, and arts, an industry already contributing 2.3% to GDP.”

Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank serving over 8.5 million customers through its 255 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, as well as through digital banking channels.

The bank has garnered multiple local and international awards, including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023, and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards. It was also recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023 and the Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.


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Investing for growth By Engr. Gbenga Adebayo

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has made the vital decision to allow Telecom companies to increase their tariffs for the first time in more than 12 years. It was a brave decision that should be recognised and commended.

All the customers of our member operators are understandably disappointed that they will have to pay more to stay connected. We recognise that. We know that Nigerians have been through a series of even more substantial price increases in other sectors like fuel and power.

That is why it is so important for us to set out why the tariffs need to go up, how the revenue from the price increases will be used and how long it is going to take us to deliver the improvements that our customers will be able to see and appreciate.

The telecom sector is capital-intensive. It requires constant investment to maintain the infrastructure that we use to deliver connectivity, ensuring that we can deliver the quality of service that our customers demand and continue to upgrade to the latest technologies like 5G.

In 2024, the telecoms sector faced a perfect storm. The need for our member operators to continue to invest in their infrastructure remained, but the cost of operating their networks increased significantly. In isolation, that might have been manageable, but it followed 12 years of progressively increasing costs during which they could not increase prices.

Despite that, the telecoms industry has continued to grow. We have been able to expand voice connectivity, introduce world class data services and diversify into value added services like payments and platforms. But at some point, something had to change if we want to have the digital economy we all know Nigeria deserves.

While we have continued to invest, we were not able to do so at the speed and scale that we would have liked to ensure we deliver service quality at the levels we want, or to roll-out the products we want our consumers to have access to. In 2024, the significant losses across the industry meant that investment slowed considerably to a level that would be simply unsustainable for Nigeria going forwards.

The process of securing the price increases was a long and deliberate one, under the strong leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the NCC and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani. It was a process that sought to find the right balance that unlocks investment, while minimising the impact on consumers. Our collective goal has been to enable the investment needed to give Nigerians the best service, while continuing to do so at a price that is as competitive as possible from a global perspective.

The 50% increase is a reflection of this, and it is important to assess how this compares to our regional contemporaries. Following the increase, the cost of 1GB of data in Nigeria will remain lower than it currently costs in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa and will be just 9.5% of the cost of 1Gb in the USA. Nigeria will continue to have low-cost connectivity that enables the broadest possible access.

Following the decision, all our member operators will now be able to activate investment plans that will drive improved quality of service, new technologies and expanded reach. But the impact of this will not be felt immediately. It is not something we can just switch on. We cannot address a protracted period of under-investment overnight. The supply chain for the telecom industry is global and competitive. The hardware required must be fabricated by the original equipment manufacturers, shipped to Nigeria, cleared and installed, and this needs to happen at a large scale.

Following the tariff increase, the acquisition, importation and installation of the equipment can now begin. All our member operators have planned for this moment. We know what to do.

The journey to improved service delivery, more advanced technical solutions and a better customer experience has started. The progress Nigeria has made in the growth and development of the digital economy can, and will continue, and the potential to drive social and economic transformation is incredible. We believe in that vision, and the government does too. They have recognised its strategic importance and demonstrated the leadership required to put us on the path to progress.

All hands are now on deck!

Engr. Gbenga Adebayo is the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

 

 

 

 

 

 


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