Lately, with every other startup being a fintech company, you’d think we had solved all of Nigeria’s economic problems by now.
As of February 2025, Nigeria was home to over 430 fintech startups, making it one of the top countries in Africa for fintech innovation. In 2024, the sector attracted over $2 billion, as revealed in the 2024 Economic Report by the Office of the Special Adviser to Nigeria’s President on Economic Affairs (in the Office of the Vice President), dated November 2024.
The digital payments market is projected to reach a total transaction value of $20.37 trillion by 2025. However, over 28 million of Nigeria’s population are still financially excluded, stressing a gap between fintech solutions and their economic impact.
The fintech surge is sweeping through the country, every corner seems to have a new app promising to help you send money, pay bills, or manage your finances. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think we were all rich by now, or at least financially savvy.
But let’s pause for a moment and consider the state of things. Despite the millions flowing into fintech, Nigeria’s infrastructure is still a disaster. We still have terrible roads, many fuming about how the healthcare system failed certain individuals, and lots of people without access to basic services like clean water and reliable electricity.
What good are mobile wallets when you can’t even get reliable internet in many parts of the country? How does digital payment help a farmer who can’t even get his crops to market because of the poor roads? We’ve hit a point where payments and wallets are no longer enough. It’s time we shifted focus to something way beyond—real infrastructure.
Fintech in Nigeria is big. It’s loud. It’s enticing. With startups like Paystack, Flutterwave, and OPay raising millions, you’d think we were on the brink of solving all financial challenges.
Sure, it’s impressive—no one can deny that Nigerian fintech has grown into a powerful sector, with billions flowing in and digital payments becoming commonplace. But then, in the run to be the next big fintech unicorn, we’ve forgotten about everything else.
Truth be told, fintech is not a panacea. It might solve a part of the equation, but what happens when you fix payments but ignore the roads that get goods to market or the lack of access to basic healthcare? There’s a difference between convenience and systemic change.
You can’t buy a road or build a hospital with a few clicks on your mobile wallet. Yet, somehow, that’s the narrative we’ve embraced—that as long as we have payment solutions, we’ve got it all figured out.
The Real Infrastructure Gaps in Nigeria
When you walk through Lagos or any major Nigerian city, you can see the divide between the fintech growth and the daily struggles of Nigerians. Let’s start with healthcare. Nigeria’s healthcare system is still in shambles despite innovations, and fintech solutions like mobile health apps are great, but they only scratch the surface.
You need more than just a payment system to solve the issues. You need a network of well-funded hospitals, efficient health insurance, and accessible treatments for all. The kind of infrastructure that tech solutions can help build—but only if the focus moves away from just mobile payments.
Take transport. Anyone who’s tried to get through Lagos during rush hour knows how bad it is. It’s not just frustrating, it’s dangerous. Ride-hailing services like Uber or Bolt have made a difference, but they can only do so much when the infrastructure they depend on is barely functional.
Poor roads, no traffic management, and outdated public transport systems all contribute to chaos on the streets. So, why isn’t tech doing something about this? Imagine smart traffic management systems, GPS-based public transport, or even digital tolls to ease congestion. These are the real changes that could change lives. But instead, we’re stuck in a loop of wallet apps and online payments.
Let’s not forget agriculture. Nigeria’s agricultural sector has lots of untapped potential, but it’s held back by poor infrastructure. Fintech might help farmers with digital transactions or access to microloans, but what happens when they can’t get their goods to market because of unreliable roads or lack of access to irrigation systems? Without the infrastructure to support it, all the fintech in the world won’t change the reality of Nigeria’s farmers.
The Case for Diversified Tech Investments
It’s time for tech to be broadened in Nigeria. Imagine an aggregate of startups equally focused on every sector, no aspect left out.
While fintech has undoubtedly created an exciting industry, we need more than just digital wallets to move forward. What we need is a movement towards real infrastructure including healthcare, agriculture, transport and energy.
It’s simple — tech is the solution, but it needs to be targeted at the real issues. Fintech is just one piece of the puzzle. And while it has its place, it can’t be the end-all-be-all solution. The focus needs to move towards building infrastructure that goes beyond supporting daily life to driving economic growth. Nigeria needs tech-driven solutions that address real, pressing issues like roads, healthcare, and energy.
If we want to build a country that thrives, we have to start with the basics. The infrastructure must come first, not just the apps.
The Economic and Social Value of Building Infrastructure
We usually talk about economic growth as though it happens in isolation. But the truth is, real growth comes from a thriving infrastructure—one that can handle the demands of a growing population, a diverse economy, and a dynamic digital world.
Investing in infrastructure tech means not only boosting productivity but creating long-term job opportunities across various sectors, including construction, healthcare and tech. Imagine the job creation potential from building tech solutions for transport systems, smart cities, or sustainable agriculture.
The social impact is even higher. Tech infrastructure can reduce inequality by making essential services accessible to all Nigerians, not just those in urban areas with fast internet and mobile phones. From rural healthcare to improved farming techniques, tech can reach the farthest corners of the country, changing lives in ways that fintech alone cannot.
To make this happen, we need more than just private sector investment. The Nigerian government needs to step in with strong policies and incentives for infrastructure-driven tech.
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be key in driving this forward. They can bring together the innovation of the tech sector with the experience and resources of the public sector to create sustainable solutions for healthcare, transport, and agriculture.
Also, we must invest in research and development to create scalable solutions that can be adopted across the country. We’ve seen how much can be achieved when the right partnerships are made; now it’s time to apply that energy to infrastructure. If we want tech to truly transform Nigeria, we need a long-term vision that goes beyond the quick wins of the fintech sector.
We’ve had our fun with fintech, but now it’s time to get serious. The sustainability of Nigeria doesn’t lie in the number of digital wallets we have or how many transactions we can process per second. It lies in building infrastructure that addresses real needs, improves lives, and drives sustainable economic growth.
The fintech space may be overcrowded, but the field is still wide open for tech-driven infrastructure solutions. If we can get that right, we’ll be well on our way to creating a Nigeria that works for everyone, not just those with a smartphone and an internet connection.
It’s time to think bigger, think longer-term, and start building the real infrastructure that this country needs.
