Eniolorunda clarified that the core issue is not a general lack of intelligence or capability among Nigerians, but a critical, systemic shortage of resident senior technical talent capable of building and managing infrastructure at a global scale.

From Backlash to Home Truths

The debate erupted after Eniolorunda’s initial presentation, where he revealed that Moniepoint had restricted its hiring exclusively to Nigeria since 2024 but struggled to fill hundreds of roles due to applicants falling short of international standards.

Critics online quickly pushed back, attributing the vacancy gap to aggressive hiring benchmarks and local compensation structures.

Responding via a statement on his LinkedIn page, the fintech chief executive sought to shift the discourse from emotional reactions to economic realities.

“The stark reality is this, opportunities are few and far between, unemployment/underemployment is high and sadly there are too few employers for a huge market such as ours, at least when compared to other large markets like China and India,” Eniolorunda stated. “But we must tell ourselves the truth. Nigeria currently doesn’t have enough highly skilled technical talent still resident in Nigeria as required to build companies that can scale globally.”

He emphasized that his assessment was specifically targeted at upper-tier technical leadership, adding, “It is important to note that this is not about Nigerians generally, this is about senior Nigerian talents still resident in Nigeria.”

The Trans-Generational ‘Japa’ Drain and Broken Pipelines

Eniolorunda identified the persistent migration of skilled professionals, popularly known as the Japa wave, as a primary driver behind the depletion of Nigeria’s executive ecosystem.

He noted that the issue transcends tech, drawing parallels to the 1980s exodus of medical professionals to the Middle East, and citing recent data showing Nigeria lost approximately 16,000 medical doctors to the US and UK as of March 2024.

Beyond migration, Eniolorunda pointed to a critical structural issue: the absence of a robust “feeder ecosystem” within the Nigerian corporate landscape.

“Nigeria does not have too many feeder industries across the board,” he explained. “As such, there are fewer starter companies that young talent can come from to feed into senior roles in other companies. Every one then ends up fighting for the same pool of senior leaders that have experience and bandwidth to deliver and win in the market.”

He raised sharp rhetorical questions to illustrate the scarcity of elite engineering and operational capacity left in the country:

“How many Nigerian engineering VPs remaining in Nigeria can manage payments infra at scale?”

“How many senior data scientists model millions of customers with prudent NPLs (Non-Performing Loans)?”

“How many growth execs have scaled apps to 80k users/day?”

The Gap in Present-Day Competitiveness

While acknowledging that training young tech professionals is essential for long-term sustainability, Eniolorunda argued that local upskilling initiatives cannot instantly solve the immediate execution demands faced by major enterprise players like Dangote, Flutterwave, LemFi, and Moniepoint, which actively compete against aggressive global counterparts, particularly from China.

“Training young talents can fill the gap for the future but is inadequate for today,” he remarked. “Companies need senior talent and cannot wait the eight to ten years needed to get them to senior levels to compete.”

Despite the talent acquisition bottleneck, Moniepoint remains heavily anchored locally. The CEO revealed that the fintech unicorn employs over 3,500 full-time staff, with over 90% comprising local Nigerian talent, and is currently sustaining a 20% Year-on-Year (YoY) workforce growth.

He expressed an aspiration to push that local footprint to 99% while continuing to build products for a global market.

Concluding his address, Eniolorunda called on stakeholders across the public and private sectors to confront the human capital deficit head-on rather than indulging in institutional denial.

“Self-deception isn’t a virtue and we must tell ourselves the home truth, we need to raise the quantity and quality of our technical talents resident in Nigeria to compete. No organization can rise above the quality of its output, and execution is everything in this game. Nigeria will be great. Let’s all do the work together,” he concluded.

The post ‘We Need to Raise the Bar’: Moniepoint CEO Tosin Eniolorunda Clarifies ‘500 Vacancies’ Comment appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

His concerns about the country’s skills gap are valid. However, the conclusion that these vacancies persist largely because Nigerian youths are unqualified reflects a narrower diagnosis of a more complex structural issue.

Nigeria’s challenge is not simply a shortage of talent; it is a shortage of deliberate, scalable systems for transforming potential into capability. A closer look at Eniolorunda’s own career trajectory offers a useful perspective.

Trained as a Mechanical Engineer, he did not emerge from university as a fintech specialist. His transition into the technology sector was enabled by Interswitch, an institution that invested in developing talent at a time when Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem was still nascent. The company did not wait for a ready-made workforce, it built one.

This model of corporate-led talent incubation has historically underpinned the growth of new industries. It is neither accidental nor optional; it is foundational.

A more recent parallel can be drawn from Nigeria’s data protection ecosystem. Following the introduction of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) in 2019 and the subsequent Data Protection Act, there was an acute shortage of trained professionals in the field. Rather than frame this gap as a failure of the education system alone, Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCOs) such Data Analytics Privacy Technology (DAPT) and others in the country adopted a proactive approach, recruiting graduates and equipping them through structured training and internship programmes.

Within a short period, Nigeria developed a growing pool of data privacy professionals with increasing global relevance.

The lesson is clear: in emerging sectors, talent is rarely found fully formed; it is built through intentional investment.

Attributing workforce gaps to youth distraction, whether in the form of social media or illicit economic activities, risks oversimplifying the issue.

Young people respond to incentives and access. When pathways into legitimate, high-value employment appear limited or require prior experience that few possess, alternative routes inevitably become more attractive.

This is less a reflection of unwillingness than of constrained opportunity.

For corporate Nigeria, this presents a strategic choice. Organizations can continue to search for scarce, fully developed talent, often at higher cost and with increasing reliance on expatriate labour, or they can invest in structured talent pipelines that align with their long-term needs.

Programmes such as paid academies, residencies, and apprenticeship models offer a practical mechanism for bridging this gap while simultaneously strengthening institutional capacity.

The implications extend beyond individual firms. 

A growing dependence on expatriate talent carries broader economic consequences, including capital flight through remittances, slower domestic capacity development, and sustained reliance on foreign expertise in critical sectors. For a country seeking to build a resilient and competitive digital economy, such outcomes pose strategic risks.

None of this diminishes the real shortcomings of Nigeria’s education system. Rather, it underscores the need for a complementary response from industry. In environments where formal education cannot fully meet evolving market demands, the private sector must play a more active role in capability development.

Ultimately, the debate is not about whether a talent gap exists, it does. The more important question is how that gap is addressed. In advanced economies, organizations can often rely on deep, mature talent pools.

In emerging markets like Nigeria, those pools must be consciously developed. The companies that recognise this early, and invest accordingly, will not only solve their hiring challenges but also shape the future of the industries they operate in.

*Dr. Segun H. Olugbile, is the CEO of Data Analytics Privacy Technology Ltd

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In partnership with ALX, Eniolorunda hosted a four-hour virtual Entrepreneurship Masterclass bringing together 100 female business owners for a hands-on session designed to move them from petty trading to building valuable enterprises.

The masterclass was structured around three practical modules:

• The Model, The Money, and The Plan with each session facilitated by a subject matter expert and anchored in live, guided exercises rather than passive instruction.

Participants also completed a one-page Lean Canvas draft, worked through a pricing and profit calculator to identify their break-even points and profitability levers, and closed the session by drafting a personal 30-60-90 day execution roadmap with weekly actions and measurable KPIs. Every participant left with a resource pack to continue applying the tools after the session.

One of the modules involved guiding participants through the fundamentals of building a scalable business model with a focus on customer definition, problem articulation, value proposition, and channels while others focused on pricing and financial fundamentals, equipping participants with the confidence to understand their numbers and make informed decisions about growth.

Iwalola Sobowale, director of Customer Experience and Market Research at Moniepoint, addressed participants during a dedicated product session, walking them through how Moniepoint’s suite of tools which span payments, business banking, and operations management with a particular focus on Moniebook to support smarter, more efficient business growth.

This Masterclass reflects Eniolorunda’s long-standing position that the work of inclusion does not end at access.

At the 2024 International Financial Inclusion Conference convened by the Central Bank of Nigeria, he argued that financial inclusion for women “must no longer be treated as a buzzword, charitable social activity or a checklist to be marked, averring that it must be rooted in economic and business activities that are well underlined by data.” 

Research consistently shows that women-owned businesses demonstrate stronger repayment discipline and higher financial engagement when given access to the right tools, making investment in women entrepreneurs both a moral and economic imperative. “It is actually more profitable to serve women,” Eniolorunda has said.

Speaking on the imperative of the initiative, he noted:

“We’re at a point where technology can significantly accelerate business growth, but access alone isn’t enough. What matters is giving entrepreneurs the knowledge and confidence to use these tools effectively. This masterclass is about equipping women with insights they can apply immediately to grow their businesses.”

ALX, the project partner is a pan-African technology and professional skills training platform committed to developing the next generation of African leaders through world-class, practically grounded programmes.

The initiative sits within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality, specifically its targets around women’s full and effective participation in economic life and expanding access to financial services and quality education for women entrepreneurs. It builds on Eniolorunda’s broader record in this space, including the Tosin Eniolorunda Foundation’s financial literacy programme for female STEM students at Obafemi Awolowo University which has its root in his belief that “there can be no sustainable financial inclusion without financial literacy as its cornerstone.”

The post Tosin Eniolorunda, ALX Train 100 Women Entrepreneurs on Finance appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Moniepoint Inc., Africa’s leading all-in-one financial ecosystem, has released a sector-specific study titled “The Business of Community Nightlife in Nigeria.”

Drawing from transaction data across 27,000 clubs, bars, and lounges, the report provides a rare, ground-level view of how money and labor intersect once the sun goes down.

Cash is Dying After Dark: The “Ping” is King

In a significant departure from wider informal economy trends where cash remains stubborn, Nigeria’s nightlife is rapidly digitizing. According to the study, cash is actively discouraged in late-night venues due to security concerns.

Transfer Dominance: Bank transfers outpace card payments by nearly 2 million transactions during peak nighttime hours on the Moniepoint network.

The Audio-Visual Confirmation: To eliminate the friction of waiting for SMS alerts or verifying screenshots, Moniepoint’s POS Transfer system, which provides an instant audio confirmation, has become the standard operating procedure for bars to keep service moving.

Security-First Cards: In a move to protect night-time revelers, Moniepoint cards are now designed without visible card numbers or CVVs, preventing sensitive data theft in crowded environments.

The Economic Clock: Peak Spending vs. Peak Crowds

One of the report’s most operationally significant findings is that while the party may last until 6 am, the economic night is decided much earlier.

The Spending Timeline:

• 8:00 PM: Transaction volumes begin a sharp climb.
• 11:59 PM: Spending hits its absolute peak.
• 12:00 AM – 6:00 AM: Even as venues remain full, purchasing activity steadily declines.

For operators, this suggests that the critical window for inventory management and vendor payments occurs in the very early hours of the morning, even as consumer spending slows down.

Beyond Lagos: Katsina and Kwara’s “Quiet” Boom

While Lagos leads in the sheer number of establishments (4,856 venues), the data shows that Nigeria’s night economy is widely distributed and far from elitist.

The Food Truck Surge: Katsina State leads the country in nighttime food truck payment value, with vendors raking in over ₦130 million in the last 12 months.

High Frequency: Kwara State leads the nation in the total count of transactions, proving that high-volume, low-value spending is the bedrock of the community night economy.

The Revenue Anchor: While alcohol drives profit, food is the quiet stabilizer. In many neighborhood joints, bottled water and meals actually outsell beer and spirits early in the evening.

Employment and the Credit Gap

Nightlife is a massive labour engine. Conservative estimates from the study suggest at least 54,000 people are engaged in nightlife labour every night across Nigeria, with local bars typically expanding their workforce by 30-50% on weekends.

Tosin Eniolorunda, co-founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint Inc., noted that this sector deserves the same strategic attention as agriculture or healthcare.

“Our goal is to make sure every one of those businesses has the tools to grow, from credit for sound systems to same-day settlement that allows vendors to restock,” he said.

Interestingly, the report finds that most loan requests from bar operators are not for working capital, but for Ambience Upgrades, investments in lighting, furniture, and sound systems, reflecting a highly competitive market where the vibe determines the customer retention.

Techecnomy analysts believe Moniepoint’s data confirms that Nigeria’s nightlife is no longer a peripheral informal activity; it is a structured, digitally-powered industry.

The transition from cash to “POS Transfers” is a massive win for financial inclusion, bringing thousands of roadside suya spots and neighborhood bars into the formal financial fold.

However, the midnight-to-dawn slowdown in spending despite full venues suggests that operators need better data-driven tools to manage table lingering, where customers occupy space but stop spending.

As the sector professionalizes, the next phase of growth will likely come from Embedded Finance, where bar owners can access instant credit based on their nightly pings to upgrade their facilities.

The post Moniepoint Data Reveals Bank Transfers Outpace Cards in Nigeria’s Nightlife appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

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.

The post Nigerian Excellence, Global Impact: How Moniepoint’s Founders Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike are Redefining African Tech, Finance appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The Summit, which was held from November 12th to 14th, 2025, with the theme “Growing the Pie: Building the Pathways for Liquidity, Scale, and Enduring Returns”, the Summit provided a forum for investors, operators, and other ecosystem players to explore the dynamics shaping Africa’s next decade of capital formation and liquidity.

The three-day Summit attracted stakeholders from key markets, framing the urgency of establishing clear liquidity benchmarks.

Leading executives, including Temi Popoola GMD/CEO, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) Group Plc, Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of Moniepoint, Chirantan Patnaik, Director, Venture Capital at British Investment International, and Lexi Novitske, General Partner at Norrsken22, engaged in high-level sessions that scrutinised the true mechanics of scale.

They also tackled systemic barriers to sustained liquidity, assessing policy, regulatory, and operational constraints, including FX restrictions and capital controls.

Kicking off the Summit, Kola Aina, Founding Partner at Ventures Platform, in his open remarks emphasised that Africa stands at a pivotal moment where liquidity (not just capital), is the defining lever for scale.

He noted that closing the continent’s liquidity gap, which is driven by limited exit pathways and underdeveloped acquisition and listing markets, requires building acquisition-ready companies, deepening corporate participation in exits, strengthening listing readiness, and innovating Africa-specific liquidity mechanisms capable of driving long-term, continent-wide prosperity.

In a keynote address, Chirantan Patnaik provided a data-driven analysis of capital flows across Africa’s innovation ecosystem, detailing who is deploying capital, what LPs are seeking, and how fund managers must adapt.

By benchmarking Africa against Latin America and India, he drew parallels in market maturation, exit pathways, and fund dynamics, positioning Africa’s current challenges within a proven global growth curve.

His insights framed ongoing discussions on DPI, sustainability, and institutional readiness throughout the Summit.

Dotun Olowoporoku, managing partner at Ventures Platform, commented on the significance of the Summit,

“We started the Africa Prosperity Summit three years ago not just to host another conversation, but to build alignment around what truly drives growth on the continent. And as this year’s convening showed, unlocking liquidity and scale will require collaboration and trusted intelligence across the ecosystem. The next frontier for Africa will not only be about attracting capital, but also about earning it through transparency, resilience, and consistent performance. We remain committed to providing the platform for these conversations to thrive and drive results.”

Discussions extended beyond conventional equity, exploring venture debt, blended finance, and revenue-based financing as viable instruments for enabling African companies to achieve cross-border scale.

A recurring theme was the need for an authoritative measure of exit performance to inform sustainable investment and policymaking.

Participants also highlighted the importance of harnessing local capital as investment pipelines, strengthening talent management and operational infrastructure, and building robust exit strategies, all critical components for scaling startups and businesses successfully across the continent.

In a fireside chat titled “The Road to a Billion: Raising, Scaling, and Building Trust at Scale”, Dotun Olowoporoku and Tosin Eniolorunda shared insights on what it takes to scale African companies to billion-dollar valuations.

Both industry leaders agreed that sustainable growth in Africa requires a balance of ambition and discipline – combining bold vision with rigorous operational execution, building ecosystems of trust, and leveraging local insights to create businesses that are profitable, resilient, and scalable across borders.

Highlighting the importance of data in investment decisions, the Summit also saw the official launch of the first-ever African Exit Index, presented by Michael Famoroti, head of Research at Stears, Africa’s leading financial data provider.

The Index, a continuously updated, publicly accessible resource, aims to benchmark exit performance and provide investors and policymakers with actionable insights for strategic deployment.

Africa Prosperity Summit, now in its consecutive third year, has continued to serve as the essential platform for translating high-level conversations into the actionable strategies and trusted intelligence required for scalable, long-term prosperity.

This year’s edition was proudly sponsored by G. Elias, Aluko & Oyebode, Iron Capital, and Google for Startups Accelerator Africa. In line with its ecosystem-driven approach, this year’s summit was curated in collaboration with several ecosystem leaders, including AVCA, Algebra Ventures, Miva University, Novastar, Wimbart, 7 Generations Institute, and TLP Advisory.

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Moniepoint’s 2025 Informal Economy Report reveals what most Nigerians already live, small businesses are earning more but gaining less.

Sixty-five percent of Nigeria’s informal businesses across the country reported an increase in revenue over the past year, but only 47% saw a growth in profit. At the same time, 79% said the cost of doing business had increased, driven mainly by higher supplier prices, transport expenses, and the relentless depreciation of the naira.

This contradiction, of higher earnings but shrinking returns, captures the state of the Nigerian economy today.

Growth Without Profits

The country’s informal economy looks alive. The markets are filled with activities, goods are moving daily, artisans are finding work, and service providers are busy, but look deeper, they are all exhausted. 

The report stresses how traders, among others, watch their margins evaporate, unable to keep pace with inflation. “The cost of doing business has increased for 80% of informal businesses in that same period. A goal for us in this report was to establish context like this: helping key stakeholders see and understand the effects of every decision made on informal businesses, and giving them a voice where they’ve previously gone largely unheard,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, founder and group CEO, Moniepoint Inc.

Unsurprisingly, 44% of Nigeria’s informal businesses make less than ₦20,000 daily in revenue, and most make profit of only ₦10,000 to ₦20,000 a day. Business owners skip meals to restock, workers forgo pay to keep their jobs.

And for women-owned businesses, 41% of women earn below ₦10,000 daily, compared to 34% of men. It tells us that Nigeria’s informal economy, while inclusive in appearance, still aligns with the inequalities of the formal one.

Survival Mode Economics

We see an economy built on individuals, isolated, unstructured and overstretched, highly fragmented. Eighty-five percent of informal businesses are sole proprietorships, usually run by one person who handles everything from supply to sales to bookkeeping. Only 40% employ labour, and when they do, it’s typically one to three workers. It’s not that they don’t want to expand, it’s just that they can’t afford to.

Record keeping is also informal. Seventy-five percent of business owners say they track their income and expenses, but 38% disclose they do so mentally, without written or digital records. Most lack a clear view of their cash flow, making them invisible to lenders and policymakers.

That lack of structure limits access to credit, planning, and long-term growth.

Credit access is also deteriorating as 51% of informal business owners have never taken a loan and have no intention to do so, compared to 30% in the last report.

Fear of debt, high interest rates, and lack of collateral keep them shut out of the financial system. Among those who borrow, only 6% have ever secured loans above ₦1 million, with digital lenders and microfinance banks emerging as their most common sources.

The result is a self-sustaining cycle of informality; low records, low credit, low growth.

Inflation and the Cost of Resilience

Inflation has become the most punishing cost of doing business in Nigeria. It’s the invisible tax that eats into every sale, every restock and every saving. 

Dr Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, technical adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, explained:

“With the removal of fuel subsidies and devaluation of the Naira by the monetary authorities, inflation rate increased from 22.41% in May 2023 to a climax of 34.8% by December 2024 according to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In July 2025, inflation rate declined drastically to 21.88%.”

For informal businesses, that drop brings a little comfort. Inflation may have eased statistically, but prices are still suffocating. The report found that while 74% of business owners save money, 69% save less than ₦50,000 monthly, and 42% say their savings cannot last a month if their business income stops.

Even the much-celebrated digital transition has not fully arrived. While many businesses use transfers to restock, most still prefer to receive payments in cash, and only 16% say digital transactions account for more than half of their total revenue. The infrastructure may be modern, but consumer behaviour is still very traditional and survival rarely leaves room for experimentation.

Policy and Structural Limitations

For an economy that contributes around 65% of the nation’s GDP and supports over 80% of jobs, the informal sector is strangely underserved by policy. It sustains Nigeria, but without protection. 

Dr Chinyere Almona, director-general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted:

“The most pressing challenge, therefore, is misaligned policy frameworks that inadequately balance revenue generation with sectoral resilience, inadvertently driving many players further into informality. What is needed is not merely regulation, but coherent regulatory empathy, a framework that recognises informality as a springboard for innovation, employment, and resilience, rather than a nuisance to be managed.”

Despite recent policy initiatives such as the Nigeria Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp), the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), and small business registration campaigns, the report disclosed that formalisation is still out of reach for most small business owners, expensive, bureaucratic and unrewarding. 

“Although many informal businesses are unfamiliar with the process of registering their business, the assumption is that it is costly and complex. These assumptions make them unlikely to attempt the process,” said Zauro.

It’s not a lack of will, but a lack of trust. 

From Resilience to Reform

If there’s one thread that ties Moniepoint’s findings together, it’s that resilience is not enough. The informal sector needs access, not a round of applause.

In her commentary, Dr. Almona called for a shift in thinking. “Policies must pivot from punitive compliance models to incentive-driven, inclusion-focused strategies to effectively support growth and formalisation.”

That means simplifying registration, improving access to finance, expanding digital infrastructure, and providing targeted support for women entrepreneurs; all areas where private sector players like Moniepoint, SMEDAN, and IFC are already collaborating and this must continue in order to bridge the trust gap between the street and the system. 

Moniepoint’s report measures Nigeria’s informal economy, exposing its weaknesses and the fatigue of millions of businesses. Nigerians are counting coins under candlelight, calculating what can wait till tomorrow. Informal businesses are the backbone of the economy, but they’re carrying too much weight without support.

Until policymakers, financiers, and regulators begin to design for their reality, not their assumptions, Nigeria’s growth will stay uneven. The country’s entrepreneurs are doing their part. It’s time the system met them halfway.

The post 65% of Nigeria’s Informal Businesses Saw Higher Revenues in 2025, But Only 47% Made More Profit appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This prestigious ranking, developed in collaboration with market research firm Statista, evaluates fintechs globally based on key metrics such as revenue growth, transaction volume, employee strength, and capital raised.

Moniepoint stands alongside 250 trailblazing fintech companies shaping the future of financial services worldwide.

From Nigeria to the World

Founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) has grown into a powerhouse, providing digital banking, payments, credit, and business tools to over 10 million customers.

The company processes over one billion transactions monthly, with volumes exceeding $22 billion, significantly boosting financial inclusion, especially within Africa’s informal economy.

Moniepoint’s recent initiatives, including the launch of MonieWorld, its platform for Africans in the diaspora, have further extended its reach.

Now available in markets like the UK, MonieWorld allows users to send money and access digital financial services with ease, marking the company’s first consumer-facing venture outside Africa.

A Streak of Global Recognition

This CNBC recognition follows a string of high-profile accolades:

• TIME100 Most Influential Companies (2025)
• Financial Times’ Fastest-Growing African Companies (3 consecutive years)
• CB Insights Fintech 100

These milestones reinforce Moniepoint’s commitment to innovation, impact, and inclusion.

“It’s an honour to be listed among the world’s top fintechs,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, Group CEO of Moniepoint Inc. “This recognition affirms our team’s dedication and underscores our growing influence in global fintech. We’re driven by a single mission—to power the dreams of millions of African entrepreneurs and businesses. As we scale, we remain committed to transforming lives through wider access to financial services and economic opportunity.”

The Global Fintech Landscape

Launched in 2023, CNBC’s Top Fintech Companies list is a definitive guide to the world’s most innovative and high-performing fintechs across banking, payments, digital assets, and more.

Moniepoint’s inclusion reflects not just regional success but its emergence as a global leader in tech-driven finance.

View the full list here: CNBC World’s Top Fintech Companies 2025

Moniepoint isn’t just building better financial systems—it’s building better futures.

The post Moniepoint Named among World’s Top Fintech Companies by CNBC appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This collaboration showcases Moniepoint’s unwavering commitment to youth empowerment and human capital development across the African continent.

The competition, which was held commemoratively to celebrate this year’s International Day of the Boy Child, brought together SS2 students from across Delta State to address the critical theme:

“The Role of Financial Inclusion and Technology in Shaping a Brighter Future for Young People in Africa.”

Moniepont has received critical acclaim over its core mission of advancing financial inclusion through innovative digital financial technology solutions and payment services..

The oratory competition showcased exceptional talent among Nigeria’s youth, with Otovo Praise of Crystalloid International School emerging as the champion. His outstanding performance earned him a full-year scholarship through the Tosin Eniolorunda STEM Foundation, reflecting Moniepoint’s philosophy of investing in educational excellence.

Second-place winner Audi Innocent of St Patrick’s College received ₦300,000, while third-place winner, Asher David of Glorious Kids Academy was awarded ₦200,000.

“At Moniepoint, we believe that driving sustainable innovation begins with future-proofing and expanding the talent pool by empowering the next generation with the tools that they need to succeed especially basic literacy skills which remain fundamental pillars in socio-economic development,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO Moniepoint Inc.  “These young voices represent the future of African leadership, and their insights into financial inclusion and technology demonstrate the remarkable potential that exists within our communities. Through our various educational and developmental initiatives such as the CAD/CAM lab we donated to OAU last year or the Moniepoint DreamDevs programme, we are betting big on an investment in Africa’s future.”

The initiative extends beyond monetary rewards, creating meaningful platforms for young people to express their ideas on a global stage.

Through its support of the NextGen Connect Conference and Tech-In-School conversations, Moniepoint is fostering an environment where youth can develop critical thinking skills, build confidence, and engage with pressing societal issues.

In her remarks, Founder, Mega Impact Foundation, Florence Ogonegbu said that

“We reaffirm our commitment to building an Africa where every young person has simplified access to sustainable education, capacity building, and empowerment. By leveraging technology and local initiatives, we are creating platforms that enable our youth to thrive and transform their communities. Together with partners like Moniepoint, we are not just shaping futures—we are driving a movement for social development that will resonate globally. Every boy, every young person, deserves the opportunity to unlock their full potential and drive lasting impact across our continent.”

The competition received additional support from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Delta State, highlighting the collaborative approach required to nurture young talent effectively.

The post How Moniepoint is Championing Africa Youth Development appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Entering a saturated but profitable space in the UK–Nigeria money transfer corridor, Moniepoint is expanding internationally, working to solve real problems rather than building just another app promising “faster, cheaper” transfers.

For years, Moniepoint focused on digitising payments for Nigeria’s wide network of small businesses. Now, it wants to be the go-to bank for immigrants who straddle two continents.

In 2024 alone, Nigerians abroad sent home nearly $21 billion. About half of that came from the UK. That’s not small money. That’s why Moniepoint has chosen to start here.

At first glance, MonieWorld might seem like just another company among giants — Send, LemFi, NALA, Taptap Send — all fighting for attention from migrants eager to send money home. But there’s a bigger play at hand. “We’re not trying to be a remittance app,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint’s founder and CEO. “We’re building a proper immigrant banking platform.”

He’s not wrong to think bigger. New migrants need more than just a channel to send money back home. They need banking services that understand where they’re coming from — literally and culturally. They need help settling, saving, building credit, and navigating life in a new system that usually doesn’t see them.

There’s a challenge, of course. The market is crowded and competitive. Many of the popular apps today have strong networks and loyal users. People don’t switch financial tools on a whim — especially when word of mouth carries weight in immigrant communities. Moniepoint isn’t naïve to that.

“We’re not trying to say we’re here to be the cheapest,” Eniolorunda admits. “But because we already have an existing technology, processing rails, and have achieved economies of scale in many places, it’s a means that we can afford to be cheaper for our customers.”

So what’s different? For one, Moniepoint owns its infrastructure. It processes over a billion transactions monthly in Nigeria alone. It has the rails, the licenses, the experience. That end-to-end control is something many rivals can’t claim.

The app, MonieWorld, is already live on the App Store and Google Play. Transfers take seconds. There are no fees. Exchange rates are competitive and adjusted throughout the day. You can pay using bank transfers, cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

MonieWorld is launching from London under Moniepoint GB — the company’s first real move outside Africa. But this is just the beginning. According to Eniolorunda, more corridors will follow. “The African diaspora needs a one-stop solution to better meet its financial services needs – and improve on the current fragmented market,” he said.

“Our expectation is that MonieWorld will enhance financial access for everyone involved, boosting UK-Nigeria bilateral trade and benefiting the global economy.”

The remittance business is known for razor-thin margins and fierce competition. But Moniepoint has never shied away from crowded spaces. When it entered agency banking in 2019, it was considered late. Now, it dominates. Maybe history is about to repeat itself.

As for the future? We don’t have all the details yet, but Moniepoint is hinting at credit-building tools and broader financial services for immigrants. If they pull that off — if they manage to be more than just a transfer app — they might just change the game again.

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