With 80% of new businesses failing within their first five years, entering a market already saturated with established firms makes it difficult to thrive.
Competing in such a sector requires more than just a competitive edge; it demands innovation, trust, and strategic differentiation.
In Africa, a continent with 54 countries and thousands of financial service providers, new entrants often struggle to distinguish themselves.
The region’s fast-changing financial sector is dominated by established firms that have already secured a market presence. For instance, Nigeria’s financial services sector alone comprises numerous companies vying for market share, reiterating the difficulty for new players to carve out a unique position.
Moniepoint, a relatively recent entrant into this competitive sector, has managed to distinguish itself exceptionally.
Founded in Nigeria less than a decade ago, Moniepoint initially focused on providing infrastructural support services to banks.
By February 2022, the company transitioned to offering its own banking services and, in 2023, began serving personal customers.
Moniepoint is now recognised by the Financial Times as Africa’s second-fastest growing company and holds the title of the continent’s largest fintech. The Central Bank of Nigeria has also acknowledged it as the country’s most inclusive payment platform.
The fintech now serves over three million individuals and businesses, offering banking services, payment processing, and access to loans, while its POS terminals handle transactions exceeding eight trillion naira monthly.
In a recent piece about the keys to Moniepoint’s success, Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder/CEO of Moniepoint Inc., emphasised,
“Trust is key, especially as a fintech serving millions of customers.”
Eniolorunda elaborated on the importance of establishing reliability:
“Connecting with customers so they truly trust you with their money doesn’t happen overnight. But in the world of digital technology – timescales are rapidly shortening and customers, as ever, seek reliability.”
Eniolorunda expatiated the necessity of well-functioning systems and constant monitoring: “It was crucial that we perfected quick, but reliable systems; had checks in place to ensure systems worked; with measures in place for any scenario when a system experienced downtime. This is especially important in Africa where electricity outages can often disrupt financial transactions.”
He also reiterated the importance of customer support: “Customer trust-building also included not apologising for having obsessive attention to detail – in both our customer support and technology development. We believe they go hand-in-hand.”
Moniepoint’s approach to customer service and technology is designed to overcome traditional limitations faced by African businesses, which have often struggled with inadequate support from conventional financial institutions.
Eniolorunda said,
“Historically, African businesses haven’t always received the necessary support from traditional banks or other providers, to grow – leaving them to turn to informal options such as cash.”
The company’s focus on high standards in compliance and security has been indispensable. “Moniepoint takes compliance very seriously and has adhered to international and domestic banking regulations. This has been key to developing compliant technology at home or abroad, and meeting all necessary standards for financial transactions, especially with online security against fraud.”
Added to this, Moniepoint’s bold marketing strategies thrust the company way up. Eniolorunda explained: “Finally, we decided to be bold. We needed to put our money where our mouth was – in furtherance of our visionary promise of powering dreams and creating a society where everyone experiences financial happiness.
“A typical bold initiative was Moniepoint’s sponsorship of Big Brother Naija, Africa’s largest entertainment IP and a show which has been instrumental to the nurturing of many talents – behind and in front of the screen. This move took our name and product into the homes, TVs, tablets and smartphones – of millions. We reached out to the new generations looking for banking services and found them in Big Brother Naija.
So, there we have it – identify what matters to your market. For us, it was a reputation for customer trust.”
Moniepoint’s success is built on a combination of technical reliability, innovative customer support, compliance with regulatory standards, and impactful marketing. Eniolorunda reflects on the company’s achievements within such a short period: “Having provided financial inclusion and powered the dreams of many, is a great badge of honour.”
Standing out in a crowded marketplace requires a multifaceted approach, blending innovation with a resilient push for customer trust and service excellence.
“So, there we have it – identify what matters to your market… Reciting a list makes it sound easy, but it presented many challenges along the way.”
