In an era where global tech giants dominate headlines, two Nigerian entrepreneurs are quietly revolutionizing financial services across Africa, proving that world-class innovation can emerge from homegrown talent and local institutions.
Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, co-founders of Moniepoint Inc, have built one of Africa’s fastest-growing fintech companies, not despite their exclusively Nigerian education, but in many ways, because of it. Their journey from the lecture halls of Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Lagos to the TIME100 Most Influential Companies list stands as a powerful testament to the caliber of talent nurtured within Nigerian universities and the transformative potential of locally-rooted vision.
Tosin Eniolorunda’s path
…exemplifies how Nigerian educational institutions can cultivate entrepreneurial excellence. After earning his degree in Mechanical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, he didn’t follow the well-trodden path abroad but instead chose to build solutions for Nigerian challenges within Nigeria itself.
This decision proved prescient. Understanding the unique financial ecosystem and infrastructure gaps firsthand from the work at TeamApt Ltd where they were building from majority of the country’s banks, Tosin pioneered several industry firsts: introducing instant POS transfers to Nigeria, launching the country’s first virtual account services, and constructing a vertically integrated payments processing switch with full switching and processing licenses.
These feats and technological achievements must be viewed from the prism that these were deeply contextual innovations born from intimate knowledge of local needs, the kind of understanding that comes from being educated and embedded in the communities one serves.
Felix Ike’s contribution
…complements this vision with technical brilliance equally rooted in Nigerian educational excellence. Graduating with first-class honors in Computer Science from the University of Lagos, Felix brought to Moniepoint the kind of engineering rigor required to build mission-critical financial infrastructure.
As Chief Technology Officer, he has architected systems that are not just functional but scalable, resilient, and secure enough to serve over 10 million businesses and individuals across Nigeria and Africa.
His work demonstrates that Nigerian universities are producing software engineering leaders capable of building world-class technology that can compete on the global stage with technology that processes millions of transactions daily and underpins the financial dreams of an entire continent.
Since its founding in 2015, Moniepoint has evolved into Africa’s largest distributor of financial services in Nigeria, with presence across all 774 local government areas.
The company’s all-in-one financial ecosystem offering seamless payments, banking, credit, and business management solutions reflects a sophisticated understanding of what African businesses and individuals actually need to thrive.
The accolades have followed: recognition by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies in 2025, listing among CNBC’s top UK fintech firms, and ranking in the Financial Times’ Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies for three consecutive years.
The Moniepoint story as an indigenously rooted but globally compliant player challenges prevailing narratives about where innovation must originate and what credentials are necessary for building transformative companies.
Tosin and Felix’s success illustrates that Nigerian universities, when their graduates are empowered with vision, opportunity, and determination, can produce founders who don’t just participate in the global economy but reshape it.
